THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 


Hiss  Nancy  Bangert 


CAPTAIN    MACKLIN 


"  Go,  Royal  ! "  he  cried,  "  and — God  bless  yoy  !  " 


CAPTAIN 
MACKLIN 

HIS    MEMOIRS 


BY 

RICHARD    HARDING   DAVIS 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

Walter  Appleton  Clark 


CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
NEW   YORK:::::::::::::::::  1906 


COPYRIGHT,  1902,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

Published,  September,  igoa 


College 
Library 


Co 
MY  MOTHER 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Go,  Royai  t "  he  cried,  ««  and — God  bless  you  !  " 

Frontispiece 


FACING 
PAGE 


He  made  out   meeting  sometmng  of  a  ceremony       .      .      24 
We  walked  out  to  the  woods  „     ,      .      ,      .      .      40 

1'  was  sure  life  in  Sagua  ia  Grande  would  always  suit  me     90 

The  moon  rose  over  the  camp     .     .     .     but  still   we 

sat      cc 138 

And  the  next  instant  1  fell  sprawling  inside  the  barrack 

yard   .     „     „     .  1 68 

¥  sprang  back  against  the  cabin       .......   294 


CAPTAIN   MACKLIN 

HIS   MEMOIRS 


UNITED  STATES  MILITARY  ACADEMY, 
WEST  POINT 

IT  may  seem  presumptuous  that  so  young  ? 
man  as  myself  should  propose  to  write  his  life 
and  memoirs,  for,  as  a  rule,  one  waits  until  he  has 
accomplished  something  in  the  world,  or  until  he 
has  reached  old  age,  before  he  ventures  to  tell  of 
the  times  in  which  he  has  lived,  and  of  his  part  in 
them.  But  the  profession  to  which  I  belong, 
which  is  that  of  a  soldier,  and  which  is  the  noblest 
profession  a  man  can  follow,  is  a  hazardous  one, 
and  were  I  to  delay  until  to-morrow  to  write  down 
what  I  have  seen  and  done,  these  memoirs  might 
never  be  written,  for,  such  being  the  fortune  of 
war,  to-morrow  might  not  come. 

So  I  propose  to  tell  now  of  the  little  1  have  ac 
complished  in  the  first  twenty-three  years  of  my 
life,  and,  from  month  to  month,  to  add  to  these 
memoirs  in  order  that,  should  1  be  suddenly  taken 
off,  my  debit  and  credit  pages  may  be  found  care° 


Captain   Macklin 

fully  written  up  to  date  and  carried  forward.  On 
the  other  hand,  should  I  live  to  be  an  old  man, 
this  record  of  my  career  will  furnish  me  with  ma 
terial  for  a  more  complete  autobiography,  and  will 
serve  as  a  safeguard  against  a  failing  memory. 

In  writing  a  personal  narrative  I  take  it  that 
the  most  important  events  to  be  chronicled  in  the 
life  of  a  man  are  his  choice  of  a  wife  and  his  choice 
of  a  profession.  As  I  am  unmarried,  the  chief 
event  in  my  life  is  my  choice  of  a  profession,  and 
as  to  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  was  given  no  choice, 
but  from  my  earliest  childhood  was  destined  to  be 
a  soldier.  My  education  and  my  daily  environ 
ment  each  pointed  to  that  career,  and  even  if  I  had 
shown  a  remarkable  aptitude  for  any  other  calling, 
which  I  did  not,  I  doubt  if  I  would  have  pursued 
it.  I  am  confident  that  had  my  education  been 
directed  in  an  entirely  different  channel,  I  should 
have  followed  my  destiny,  and  come  out  a  soldier 
in  the  end.  For  by  inheritance  as  well  as  by  in 
stinct  I  was  foreordained  to  follow  the  fortunes  of 
war,  to  delight  in  the  clash  of  arms  and  the  smoke 
of  battle ;  and  I  expect  that  when  I  do  hear  the 
clash  of  arms  and  smell  the  smoke  of  battle,  the 
last  of  the  Macklins  will  prove  himself  worthy  of 
his  ancestors. 

1  call  myself  the  last  of  the  Macklins  for  the 
reason  that  last  year,  on  my  twenty-second  birth- 

2 


Captain  Macklin 

day,  I  determined  i  should  never  marry.  Women 
I  respect  and  admire,  several  of  them,  especially 
two  of  the  young  ladies  at  Miss  Butler's  Academy 
I  have  deeply  loved,  but  a  soldier  cannot  devote 
himself  both  to  a  woman  and  to  his  country.  As 
one  of  our  young  professors  said,  u  The  flag  is  a 
jealous  mistress." 

The  one  who,  in  my  earliest  childhood,  arranged 
that  I  should  follow  the  profession  of  arms,  was 
my  mother's  father,  and  my  only  surviving  grand 
parent.  He  was  no  less  a  personage  than  Major- 
General  John  M.  Hamilton.  I  am  not  a  writer  ^ 
my  sword,  I  fear  and  hope,  will  always  be  easier 
in  my  hand  than  my  pen,  but  I  wish  for  a  brief 
moment  I  could  hold  it  with  such  skill,  that  1 
might  tell  of  my  grandfather  properly  and  grate 
fully,  and  describe  him  as  the  gentle  and  brave 
man  he  was.  1  know  he  was  gentle,  for  though 
I  never  had  a  woman  to  care  for  me  as  a  mother 
cares  for  a  son,  I  never  missed  that  care ;  and  I 
know  how  brave  he  was,  for  that  is  part  of  the 
history  of  my  country.  During  many  years  he 
was  my  only  parent  or  friend  or  companion ;  he 
taught  me  my  lessons  by  day  and  my  prayers  by 
night,  and,  when  I  passed  through  all  the  absurd 
ailments  to  which  a  child  is  heir,  he  sat  beside  my 
cot  and  lulled  me  to  sleep,  or  told  me  stories  of 
the  war.  There  was  a  childlike  and  simple  qual- 

3 


Captain  Macklin 

<ty  in  his  own  nature,  which  made  me  reach  out 
to  him  and  confide  in  him  as  J  would  have  done 
to  one  of  my  own  age.  Later,  I  scoffed  at  this 
virtue  in  him  as  something  old-fashioned  and  cred 
ulous.  That  was  when  I  had  reached  the  age 
when  I  was  older,  I  hope,  than  1  shall  ever  be 
again.  There  is  no  such  certainty  of  knowledge 
on  all  subjects  as  one  holds  at  eighteen  and  at 
f"'^hty,  and  at  eighteen  I  found  his  care  and  solici- 
.ude  irritating  and  irksome.  With  the  intolerance 
of  youth,  I  could  not  see  the  love  that  was  back 
of  his  anxiety,  and  which  should  have  softened  it 
for  me  with  a  halo  and  made  me  considerate  and 
grateful.  Now  I  see  it — I  see  it  now  that  it  is 
too  late.  But  surely  he  understood,  he  knew  how 
I  looked  up  to  him,  how  I  loved  him,  and  how  1 
tried  to  copy  him,  and,  because  I  could  not,  con 
soled  myself  inwardly  by  thinking  that  the  reason 
I  had  failed  was  because  his  way  was  the  wrong 
one,  and  that  my  way  was  the  better,  if  he  did 
not  understand  then,  he  understands  now ;  I  can 
not  bear  to  think  he  does  not  understand  and  for 
give  me. 

Those  were  the  best  days  of  mv  life,  the  days 
i  spent  with  him  as  a  child  in  his  own  home  on 
the  Hudson.  It  stands  at  Dobbs  Ferry,  set  in  a 
grove  of  pines,  with  a  garden  about  it,  and  a  box 
hedge  that  shuts  it  from  the  road.  The  room  '{ 


Captain  Macklin 

best  remember  is  the  one  that  overlooks  the 
Hudson  and  the  Palisades.  From  its  windows 
you  can  watch  the  great  vessels  passing  up  and 
down  the  river,  and  the  excursion  steamers  flying 
many  flags,  and  tiny  pleasure-boats  and  great 
barges.  There  is  an  open  fireplace  in  this  room, 
and  in  a  corner  formed  by  the  book-case,  and 
next  to  the  wood-box,  was  my  favorite  seat.  My 
grandfather's  place  was  in  a  great  leather  chair  be 
side  the  centre-table,  and  I  used  to  sit  cross- 
legged  on  a  cushion  at  his  feet,  with  my  back 
against  his  knees  and  my  face  to  the  open  hearth. 
I  can  still  see  the  pages  of  "  Charles  O'Malley  " 
and  "  Midshipman  Easy,"  as  I  read  them  by  the 
lifting  light  of  that  wood  fire,  and  I  can  hear  the 
wind  roaring  down  the  chimney  and  among  the 
trees  outside,  and  the  steamers  signalling  to  each 
other  as  they  pushed  through  the  ice  and  fog  ta 
the  great  city  that  lay  below  us.  I  can  feel  the 
fire  burning  my  face,  and  the  cold  shivers  that 
ran  down  my  back,  as  my  grandfather  told  me  of 
the  Indians  who  had  once  hunted  in  the  very 
woods  back  of  our  house,  and  of  those  he  had 
fought  with  on  the  plains.  With  the  imagination 
of  a  child,  I  could  hear,  mingled  with  the  shrieks 
of  the  wind  as  it  dashed  the  branches  against  the 
roof,  their  hideous  war-cries  as  they  rushed  to 
some  night  attack,  or  the  howling  of  the  wolves 

5 


Captain  Macklin 

in  the  snow.  When  I  think  of  myself  as  I  was 
then  I  am  very  fond  of  that  little  boy  who  sat 
shivering  with  excitement,  and  staring  with  open 
eyes  at  the  pictures  he  saw  in  the  firelight,  a  little 
boy  who  had  made  no  enemies,  no  failures,  who 
had  harmed  no  one,  and  who  knew  nothing  of 
the  world  outside  the  walls  that  sheltered  him, 
save  the  brave  old  soldier  who  was  his  law  and 
his  example,  his  friend  in  trouble,  and  his  play 
mate. 

I  knew  nothing  then,  and  I  know  very  little 
now,  either  of  my  father  or  my  mother.  When 
ever  I  asked  my  grandfather  concerning  them  he 
always  answered  vaguely  that  he  would  tell  me 
some  day,  "  when  you  are  of  age,"  but  whether 
he  meant  when  I  was  twenty-one  or  of  an  age 
when  I  was  best  fitted  to  hear  the  truth,  I  shall 
never  know.  But  I  guessed  the  truth  from  what 
he  let  fall,  and  from  what  I  have  since  heard  from 
others,  although  that  is  but  little,  for  I  could  not 
ask  strangers  to  tell  me  of  my  own  people.  For 
some  reason,  soon  after  they  were  married  my 
mother  and  father  separated  and  she  brought 
me  to  live  with  her  father,  and  he  entered  the 
Southern  army. 

I  like  to  think  that  I  can  remember  my  mother, 
and  it  seems  I  must,  for  very  dimly  I  recollect  a 
young  girl  who  used  to  sit  by  the  window  looking 


Captain  Macklin 

out  at  the  passing  vessels.  There  is  a  daguerreo 
type  of  my  mother,  and  it  may  be  that  my  recol 
lection  of  her  is  builded  upon  that  portrait.  She 
died  soon  after  we  came  to  live  with  my  grand 
father,  when  I  was  only  three  years  old,  but  I  am 
sure  I  remember  her,  for  no  other  woman  was 
ever  in  the  house,  and  the  figure  of  the  young 
girl  looking  out  across  at  the  Palisades  is  very 
clear  to  me. 

My  father  was  an  Irish  officer  and  gentleman, 
who  came  to  the  States  to  better  his  fortunes. 
This  was  just  before  the  war ;  and  as  soon  as  it 
began,  although  he  lived  in  the  North,  in  New 
York  City,  he  joined  the  Southern  army  and  was 
killed.  I  believe,  from  what  little  I  have  learned 
of  him,  that  he  was  both  wild  and  reckless,  but 
the  few  who  remember  him  all  say  that  he  had 
many  noble  qualities,  and  was  much  loved  by 
men,  and,  I  am  afraid,  by  women.  I  do  not 
know  more  than  that,  except  the  one  story  of 
him,  which  my  grandfather  often  told  me. 

"  Whatever  a  man  may  say  of  your  father,"  he 
would  tell  me,  "  you  need  not  believe ;  for  they 
may  not  have  understood  him,  and  all  that  you 
need  to  remember,  until  when  you  are  of  age  I 
shall  tell  you  the  whole  truth,  is  how  he  died." 
It  is  a  brief  story.  My  father  was  occupying  a 
trench  which  for  some  hours  his  company  had 

7 


Captain  Macklin 

held  under  a  heavy  fire.  When  the  Yankees 
charged  with  the  bayonet  he  rose  to  meet  them, 
but  at  the  same  moment  the  bugle  sounded  the 
retreat,  and  half  of  his  company  broke  and  ran. 
My  father  sprang  to  the  top  of  the  trench  and 
called,  "  Come  back,  boys,  we'll  give  them  one 
more  volley."  It  may  have  been  that  he  had  mis 
understood  the  call  of  the  bugle,  and  disobeyed 
through  ignorance,  or  it  may  have  been  that  in 
his  education  the  signal  to  retreat  had  been 
omitted,  for  he  did  not  heed  it,  and  stood  out 
lined  against  the  sky,  looking  back  and  waving 
his  hand  to  his  men.  But  they  did  not  come  to 
him,  and  the  advancing  troop  fired,  and  he  fell 
upon  the  trench  with  his  body  stretched  along  its 
length.  The  Union  officer  was  far  in  advance  of 
his  own  company,  and  when  he  leaped  upon  the 
trench  he  found  that  it  was  empty  and  that  the 
Confederate  troops  were  in  retreat.  He  turned, 
and  shouted,  laughing :  "  Come  on !  there's 
only  one  man  here — and  he's  dead  !  " 

But  my  father  reached  up  his  hand,  to  where 
the  officer  stood  above  him,  and  pulled  at  his 
scabbard. 

"  Not  dead,  but  dying,  Captain,"  my  father 
said.  "  And  that*s  better  than  retreating,  isn't 
it?" 

"  And  that  is  the  story,"  my  grandfather  used 
8 


Captain  Macklin 

to  say  to  me,  "  you  must  remember  of  your 
father,  and  whatever  else  he  did  does  not  count." 

At  the  age  of  ten  my  grandfather  sent  me  to  a 
military  academy  near  Dobbs  Ferry,  where  boys 
were  prepared  for  college  and  for  West  Point  and 
Annapolis.  I  was  a  very  poor  scholar,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  what  I  learned  in  the  drill-hall 
and  the  gymnasium,  the  academy  did  me  very 
little  good,  and  I  certainly  did  not,  at  that  time 
at  least,  reflect  any  credit  on  the  academy.  Had 
I  been  able  to  take  half  the  interest  in  my  studies 
my  grandfather  showed  in  them,  I  would  have 
won  prizes  in  every  branch ;  but  even  my  desire 
to  please  him  could  not  make  me  understand  the 
simplest  problems  in  long  division ;  and  later 
here  at  the  Point,  the  higher  branches  of  mathe 
matics,  combined  with  other  causes,  have  nearly 
deprived  the  United  States  Army  of  a  gallant 
officer.  1  believe  I  have  it  in  me  to  take  a  piece 
of  field  artillery  by  assault,  but  I  know  I  shall 
never  be  able  to  work  out  the  formula  necessary 
to  adjust  its  elevation. 

With  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  Caesars 
"  Commentaries,"  I  hated  all  of  my  studies,  not 
only  on  their  own  account,  but  because  they  cut 
me  out  of  the  talks  with  which  in  the  past  my 
grandfather  and  I  had  been  wont  to  close  each 
day.  These  talks,  which  were  made  up  on  my 

9 


Captain  Macklin 

part  of  demands  for  more  stories,  or  for  repeti 
tions  of  those  I  already  knew  by  heart,  did  more 
than  any  other  thing  to  inspire  me  with  a  desire 
for  military  glory.  My  grandfather  had  served 
through  the  Mexican  War,  in  the  Indian  cam 
paigns  on  the  plains,  and  during  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  and  his  memory  recalled  the  most 
wonderful  and  exciting  of  adventures.  He  was 
singularly  modest,  which  is  a  virtue  I  never  could 
consider  as  a  high  one,  for  I  find  that  the  world 
takes  you  at  your  own  valuation,  and  unless  "  the 
terrible  trumpet  of  Fame "  is  sounded  by  your 
self  no  one  else  will  blow  your  trumpet  for  you. 
Of  that  you  may  be  sure.  But  I  can't  recall  ever 
having  heard  my  grandfather  relate  to  people  of 
his  own  age  any  of  the  adventures  which  he  told 
me,  and  once  I  even  caught  him  recounting  a 
personal  experience  which  redounded  greatly  to 
his  credit  as  having  happened  to  "  a  man  in  his 
regiment."  When  with  childish  delight  I  at  once 
accused  him  of  this  he  was  visibly  annoyed,  and 
blushed  like  a  girl,  and  afterward  corrected  me 
for  being  so  forward  in  the  presence  of  my  elders. 
His  modesty  went  even  to  the  length  of  his  keep 
ing  hidden  in  his  bedroom  the  three  presentation 
swords  which  had  been  given  him  at  different 
times  for  distinguished  action  on  the  field.  One 
came  from  the  men  of  his  regiment,  one  from  his 

10 


Captain  Macklin 

townspeople  after  his  return  from  the  City  of 
Mexico,  and  one  from  the  people  of  the  State  of 
New  York ;  and  nothing  I  could  say  would  in 
duce  him  to  bring  them  downstairs  to  our  sitting- 
room,  where  visitors  might  see  them.  Person 
ally,  I  cannot  understand  what  a  presentation 
sword  is  for  except  to  show  to  your  friends ;  for, 
as  a  rule,  they  are  very  badly  balanced  and  of  no 
use  for  righting. 

Had  if  not  been  for  the  colored  prints  of  the 
different  battles  in  Mexico  which  hung  in  our 
sitting-room,  and  some  Indian  war-bonnets  and 
bows  and  arrows,  and  a  box  of  duelling-pistols, 
no  one  would  have  supposed  that  our  house  be 
longed  to  one  of  the  most  distinguished  generals 
of  his  day.  You  may  be  sure  I  always  pointed 
these  out  to  our  visitors,  and  one  of  my  chief 
pleasures  was  to  dress  one  of  my  school-mates  in 
the  Indian  war-bonnet,  and  then  scalp  him  with  a 
carving-knife.  The  duelling-pistols  were  even  a 
greater  delight  to  me.  They  were  equipped  with 
rifle-barrels  and  hair-triggers,  and  were  inlaid 
richly  with  silver,  and  more  than  once  had  been 
used  on  the  field  of  honor.  Whenever  my  grand 
father  went  out  for  a  walk,  or  to  play  whist  at  the 
house  of  a  neighbor,  I  would  get  down  these  pis 
tols  and  fight  duels  with  myself  in  front  of  the 
looking-glass.  With  my  left  hand  I  would  hold 


Captain  Macklin 

the  handkerchief  above  my  head,  and  with  the 
other  clutch  the  pistol  at  my  side,  and  then,  at 
the  word,  and  as  the  handkerchief  fluttered  to  the 
floor,  I  would  take  careful  aim  and  pull  the  trig 
ger.  Sometimes  I  died  and  made  speeches  before 
I  expired,  and  sometimes  I  killed  my  adversary 
and  stood  smiling  down  at  him. 

My  grandfather  was  a  member  of  the  Aztec 
Club,  wljich  was  organized  during  the  occupation 
of  the  City  of  Mexico  by  the  American  officers 
who  had  stormed  the  capital ;  and  on  the  occasion 
of  one  of  its  annual  meetings,  which  that  year  was 
held  in  Philadelphia,  I  was  permitted  to  accom 
pany  him  to  that  city.  It  was  the  longest  jour 
ney  from  home  I  had  ever  taken,  and  each  inci 
dent  of  it  is  still  clearly  fixed  in  my  mind.  The 
event  of  the  reunion  was  a  dinner  given  at  the 
house  of  General  Patterson,  and  on  the  morning 
before  the  dinner  the  members  of  the  club  were 
invited  to  assemble  in  the  garden  which  sur 
rounded  his  house.  To  this  meeting  my  grand 
father  conducted  me,  and  I  found  myself  sur 
rounded  by  the  very  men  of  whom  he  had  so 
often  spoken.  I  was  very  frightened,  and  I  con 
fess  I  was  surprised  and  greatly  disappointed  also 
to  find  that  they  were  old  and  gray-haired  men, 
and  not  the  young  and  dashing  warriors  he  had 
described.  General  Patterson  alone  did  not  dis- 

12 


Captain   Macklin 

appoint  me,  for  even  at  that  late  day  he  wore  a 
blue  coat  with  brass  buttons  and  a  buff  waistcoat 
and  high  black  stock.  He  had  a  strong,  fine 
profile  and  was  smooth  shaven.  I  remember  I 
found  him  exactly  my  ideal  of  the  Duke  of  Well 
ington  ;  for  though  I  was  only  then  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  age,  I  had  my  own  ideas  about  every 
soldier  from  Alexander  and  Von  Moltke  to  our 
own  Captain  Custer. 

It  was  in  the  garden  behind  the  Patterson 
house  that  we  met  the  General,  and  he  alarmed 
me  very  much  by  pulling  my  shoulders  back  and 
asking  me  my  age,  and  whether  or  not  I  expected 
to  be  as  brave  a  soldier  as  my  grandfather,  to 
which  latter  question  I  said,  "  Yes,  General,"  and 
then  could  have  cried  with  mortification,  for  all 
of  the  great  soldiers  laughed  at  me.  One  of  them 
turned,  and  said  to  the  only  one  who  was  seated, 
"  That  is  Hamilton's  grandson.'*  The  man  who 
was  seated  did  not  impress  me  very  much.  He 
was  younger  than  the  others.  He  wore  a  black 
suit  and  a  black  tie,  and  the  three  upper  buttons 
of  his  waistcoat  were  unfastened.  His  beard  was 
close-cropped,  like  a  blacking-brush,  and  he  was 
chewing  on  a  cigar  that  had  burned  so  far  down 
that  I  remember  wondering  why  it  did  not  scorch 
his  mustache.  And  then,  as  I  stood  staring  up  at 
him  and  he  down  at  me,  it  came  over  me  who  he 

13 


Captain  Macklin 

was,  and  I  can  recall  even  now  how  my  heart 
seemed  to  jump,  and  I  felt  terribly  frightened 
and  as  though  I  were  going  to  cry.  My  grand 
father  bowed  to  the  younger  man  in  the  cour 
teous,  old-fashioned  manner  he  always  observed, 
and  said :  "  General,  this  is  my  grandchild,  Cap 
tain  Macklin's  boy.  When  he  grows  up  I  want 
him  to  be  able  to  say  he  has  met  you.  I  am  go 
ing  to  send  him  to  West  Point." 

The  man  in  the  chair  nodded  his  head  at  my 
grandfather,  and  took  his  cigar  from  his  mouth 
and  said,  "When  he's  ready  to  enter,  remind  me, 
let  m.e  know,"  and  closed  his  lips  again  on  his 
cigar,  as  though  he  had  missed  it  even  during  that 
short  space  ">f  time.  But  had  he  made  a  long 
oration  neither  my  grandfather  nor  I  could  have 
been  more  deeply  moved.  My  grandfather  said: 
"  Thank  you,  General.  It  is  very  kind  of  you," 
and  led  me  away  smiling  so  proudly  that  it  was 
beautiful  to  see  him.  When  he  had  entered  the 
house  he  stopped,  and  bending  over  me,  asked. 
"  Do  you  know  who  that  was,  Roy  ?  "  But  with 
the  awe  of  the  moment  still  heavy  upon  me  I 
could  only  nod  and  gasp  at  him. 

"  That  was  General  Grant,"  my  grandfather 
said. 

"Yes,  I  know,"  I  whispered. 

I  am  not  particularly  proud  of  the  years  that 


Captain  Macklin 

preceded  my  entrance  to  West  Point,  and  of  the 
years  I  have  spent  here  I  have  still  less  reason  to 
be  content.  I  was  an  active  boy,  and  behaved  as 
other  young  cubs  of  that  age,  no  better  and  no 
worse.  Dobbs  Ferry  was  not  a  place  where 
temptations  beset  one,  and,  though  we  were  near 
New  York,  we  were  not  of  it,  and  we  seldom 
visited  it.  When  we  did,  it  was  to  go  to  a  mati 
nee  at  some  theatre,  returning  the  same  afternoon 
in  time  for  supper.  My  grandfather  was  very 
fond  of  the  drama,  and  had  been  acquainted  since 
he  was  a  young  man  with  some  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  actors.  With  him  I  saw  Edwin  Booth 
in  "  Macbeth,"  and  Lester  Wallack  in  "  Rose- 
dale,"  and  John  McCullough  in  "  Virginius,"  a 
tragedy  which  was  to  me  so  real  and  moving  that 
I  wept  all  the  way  home  in  the  train.  Sometimes 
I  was  allowed  to  visit  the  theatre  alone,  and  on 
these  afternoons  I  selected  performances  of  a 
lighter  variety,  such  as  that  given  by  Harrigan 
&  Hart  in  their  theatre  on  Broadway.  Every 
Thanksgiving  Day  I  was  allowed,  after  witnessing 
the  annual  football  match  between  the  students 
from  Princeton  and  Yale  universities,  to  remain 
in  town  all  that  night.  On  these  great  occasions 
I  used  to  visit  Koster  &  Bial's  on  Twenty- 
third  Street,  a  long,  low  building,  very  dark  and 
very  smoky.,  and  which  on  those  nights  was 


Captain  Macklin 

blocked  with  excited  mobs  of  students,  wearing 
different  colored  ribbons  and  shouting  the  cries 
of  their  different  colleges.  I  envied  and  admired 
these  young  gentlemen,  and  thought  them  very 
fine  fellows  indeed.  They  wore  in  those  days 
long  green  coats,  which  made  them  look  like 
coachmen,  and  high,  bell-shaped  hats,  both  of 
which,  as  I  now  can  see,  were  a  queer  survival  of 
the  fashions  of  1830,  and  which  now  for  the  sec 
ond  time  have  disappeared. 

To  me,  with  my  country  clothes  and  manners  and 
scanty  spending  money,  the  way  these  young  col 
legians  wagered  their  money  at  the  football  match 
and  drank  from  their  silver  flasks,  and  smoked  and 
swaggered  in  the  hotel  corridors,  was  something  to 
be  admired  and  copied.  And  although  I  knew 
none  of  them,  and  would  have  been  ashamed  had 
they  seen  me  in  company  with  any  of  my  boy 
friends  from  Dobbs  Ferry,  I  followed  them  from 
one  hotel  to  another,  pretending  I  was  with  them, 
and  even  penetrated  at  their  heels  into  the  cafe  of 
Delmonico.  I  felt  then  for  a  brief  moment  that 
I  was  "  seeing  life,"  the  life  of  a  great  metropolis, 
and  in  company  with  the  young  swells  who  made 
it  the  rushing,  delightful  whirlpool  it  appeared 
to  be. 

It  seemed  to  me,  then,  that  to  wear  a  green 
coachman's  coat,  to  rush  the  doorkeeper  at  the 

16 


Captain  Macklin 

Haymarket  dance-hall,  and  to  eat  supper  at  the 
"  Silver  Grill "  was  to  be  "  a  man  about  town," 
and  each  year  I  returned  to  our  fireside  at  Dobbs 
Ferry  with  some  discontent.  The  excursions 
made  me  look  restlessly  forward  to  the  day  when 
I  would  return  from  my  Western  post,  a  dashing 
young  cavalry  officer  on  leave,  and  would  wake 
up  the  cafes  and  clubs  of  New  York,  and  throw 
my  money  about  as  carelessly  as  these  older  boys 
were  doing  then. 

My  appointment  to  West  Point  did  not,  after 
all,  come  from  General  Grant,  but  from  President 
Arthur,  who  was  in  office  when  I  reached  my 
nineteenth  year.  Had  I  depended  upon  my 
Congressman  for  the  appointment,  and  had  it 
been  made  after  a  competitive  examination  of 
candidates,  I  doubt  if  I  would  have  been  chosen. 

Perhaps  my  grandfather  feared  this  and  had  it 
in  his  mind  when  he  asked  the  President  to  ap 
point  me.  It  was  the  first  favor  he  had  ever 
asked  of  the  Government  he  had  served  so  well, 
and  I  felt  more  grateful  to  him  for  having  asked 
the  favor,  knowing  what  it  cost  him  to  do  so, 
than  I  did  to  the  President  for  granting  it. 

I  was  accordingly  entered  upon  the  rolls  of  the 
Military  Academy,  and  my  career  as  a  soldier  be 
gan.  I  wish  I  could  say  it  began  brilliantly,  but 
the  records  of  the  Academy  would  not  bear  me 

17 


Captain  Macklin 

out.  Had  it  not  been  that  I  was  forced  to  study 
books  1  would  not  have  been  a  bad  student ;  for 
in  everything  but  books,  in  everything  that  bore 
directly  on  the  training  of  a  soldier  and  which 
depended  upon  myself,  as,  for  example,  drill,  rid 
ing,  marksmanship,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  man 
ual,  I  did  as  well,  or  far  better,  than  any  of  my 
classmates.  But  I  could  not,  or  would  not, 
study,  and  instead  of  passing  high  in  my  class  at 
the  end  of  the  plebe  year,  as  my  natural  talents 
seemed  to  promise  I  would  do,  I  barely  scraped 
through,  and  the  outlook  for  the  second  year  was 
not  encouraging.  The  campaign  in  Mexico  had 
given  my  grandfather  a  knowledge  of  Spanish, 
and  as  a  boy  he  had  drilled  this  language  into  me, 
for  it  was  a  fixed  belief  of  his,  that  if  the  United 
States  ever  went  to  war,  it  would  be  with  some  of 
her  Spanish-American  neighbors,  with  Mexico, 
or  Central  America,  or  with  Spain  on  account  of 
Cuba.  In  consequence  he  considered  it  most 
essential  that  every  United  States  officer  should 
speak  Spanish.  He  also  argued  that  a  knowl 
edge  of  French  was  of  even  greater  importance 
to  an  officer  and  a  gentleman,  as  it  was,  as  I  have 
since  found  it  to  be,  the  most  widely  spoken  of 
all  languages.  I  was  accordingly  well  drilled  in 
these  two  tongues,  and  I  have  never  regretted 
^e  time  I  spent  on  them,  for  my  facility  in  them 

18 


Captain  Macklin 

has  often  served  me  well,  has  pulled  me  out  of 
tight  places,  put  money  into  my  pocket,  and 
gained  me  friends  when  but  for  them  I  might 
have  remained  and  departed  a  stranger  among 
strangers.  My  French  accordingly  helped  me 
much  as  a  "  yearling,"  and  in  camp  I  threw  my 
self  so  earnestly  into  the  skirmisn,  artillery,  and 
cavalry  drills  that  in  spite  of  my  low  marks  I  still 
stood  high  in  the  opinion  of  the  cadet  officers  and 
of  my  instructors.  With  my  classmates,  for  some 
reason,  although  in  all  out-of-door  exercises  I  was 
the  superior  of  most  of  them,  I  was  not  popular. 
I  would  not  see  this  at  first,  for  I  try  to  keep  on 
friendly  terms  with  those  around  me,  and  I  want 
to  be  liked  even  by  people  of  whom  I  have  no 
very  high  opinion  and  from  whom  I  do  not  want 
anything  besides.  But  I  was  not  popular.  There 
was  no  disguising  that,  and  in  the  gymnasium  or 
the  riding-hall  other  men  would  win  applause  for 
performing  a  feat  of  horsemanship  or  a  difficult 
trick  on  the  parallel  bars,  which  same  feat,  when  I 
repeated  it  immediately  after  them,  and  even  a 
little  better  than  they  had  done  it,  would  be  re 
ceived  in  silence.  I  could  not  see  the  reason  for 
this,  and  the  fact  itself  hurt  me  much  more  than 
anyone  guessed.  Then  as  they  would  not  signify 
by  their  approbation  that  I  was  the  best  athlete  in 
the  class,  I  took  to  telling  them  that  I  was,  which 

19 


Captain  Macklin 

did  not  help  matters.  I  find  it  is  the  same  in  the 
world  as  it  is  at  the  Academy — that  if  one  wants 
recognition,  he  must  pretend  not  to  see  that  he 
deserves  it.  If  he  shows  he  does  see  it,  everyone 
else  will  grow  blind,  holding,  I  suppose,  that  a 
conceited  man  carries  his  own  comfort  with  him, 
and  is  his  own  reward.  I  soon  saw  that  the  cadet 
who  was  modest  received  more  praise  than  the 
cadet  who  was  his  superior,  but  who,  through 
repeated  success,  had  acquired  a  self-confident,  or, 
as  some  people  call  it,  a  conceited  manner ;  and 
so,  for  a  time,  I  pretended  to  be  modest,  too,  and 
I  never  spoke  of  my  athletic  successes.  But  I 
was  never  very  good  at  pretending,  and  soon 
gave  it  up.  Then  I  grew  morbid  over  my  in 
ability  to  make  friends,  and  moped  by  myself, 
having  as  little  to  do  with  my  classmates  as  pos 
sible.  In  my  loneliness  I  began  to  think  that  I 
was  a  much  misunderstood  individual.  My  soli 
tary  state  bred  in  me  a  most  unhealthy  disgust 
for  myself,  and,  as  it  always  is  with  those  who 
are  at  times  exuberantly  light-hearted  and  self- 
assertive,  I  had  terrible  fits  of  depression  and  lack 
of  self-confidence,  during  which  spells  I  hated 
myself  and  all  of  those  about  me.  Once,  during 
one  of  these  moods,  a  First-Class  man,  who  had 
been  a  sneak  in  his  plebe  year  and  a  bully  ever 
since,  asked  me,  sneeringly,  how  "  Napoleon  on 

20 


Captain  Macklin 

the  Isle  of  St.  Helena  "  was  feeling  that  morning, 
and  I  told  him  promptly  to  go  to  the  devil,  and 
added  that  if  he  addressed  me  again,  except  in  the 
line  of  his  duty,  I  would  thrash  him  until  he 
could  not  stand  or  see.  Of  course  he  sent  me 
his  second,  and  one  of  my  classmates  acted  for 
me.  We  went  out  that  same  evening  after  sup 
per  behind  Fort  Clinton,  and  1  thrashed  him  so 
badly  that  he  was  laid  up  in  the  hospital  for  sev 
eral  days.  After  that  I  took  a  much  more  cheer 
ful  view  of  life,  and  as  it  seemed  hardly  fair  to 
make  one  cadet  bear  the  whole  brunt  of  my  dis 
pleasure  toward  the  entire  battalion,  I  began  pick 
ing  quarrels  with  anyone  who  made  pretensions 
of  being  a  fighter,  and  who  chanced  to  be  bigger 
than  myself. 

Sometimes  I  got  badly  beaten,  and  sometimes 
I  thrashed  the  other  man,  but  whichever  way  it 
went,  those  battles  in  the  soft  twilight  evenings 
behind  the  grass-grown  ramparts  of  the  old  fort, 
in  the  shadow  of  the  Kosciusko  Monument,  will 
always  be  the  brightest  and  pleasantest  memories 
of  my  life  at  this  place. 

My  grandfather  had  one  other  daughter  be 
sides  my  mother,  my  Aunt  Mary,  who  had 
married  a  Harvard  professor,  Dr.  Endicott,  and 
who  had  lived  in  Cambridge  ever  since  they  mar 
ried. 

21 


Captain  Macklin 


In  my  second  year  here,  Dr.  Endicott  died 
and  my  grandfather  at  once  went  to  Cambridge 
to  bring  Aunt  Mary  and  her  daughter  Beatrice 
back  with  him,  installing  them  in  our  little  home, 
which  thereafter  was  to  be  theirs  as  well.  He 
wrote  me  saying  he  knew  I  would  not  disapprove 
of  this  invasion  of  my  place  by  my  young  cousin 
and  assured  me  that  no  one,  girl  or  boy,  could 
ever  take  the  place  in  his  heart  that  I  had  held. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  I  was  secretly  pleased  to 
hear  of  this  addition  to  our  little  household.  I 
knew  that  as  soon  as  I  was  graduated  I  would  be 
sent  to  some  army  post  in  the  West,  and  that  the 
occasional  visit  I  was  now  able  to  pay  to  Dobbs 
Ferry  would  be  discontinued.  I  hated  to  think 
that  in  his  old  age  my  grandfather  would  be 
quite  alone.  On  the  other  hand,  when,  after  the 
arrival  of  my  cousin,  I  received  his  first  letter  and 
found  it  filled  with  enthusiastic  descriptions  of 
her,  and  of  how  anxious  she  was  to  make  him 
happy,  I  felt  a  little  thrill  of  jealousy.  It  gave 
me  some  sharp  pangs  of  remorse,  and  I  asked 
myself  searchingly  if  I  had  always  done  my  ut 
most  to  please  my  grandfather  and  to  give  him 
pride  and  pleasure  in  me.  I  determined  for  the 
future  I  would  think  only  of  how  to  make  him 
happy. 

A  few  weeks  later  I  was   able  to  obtain  a  few 

22 


Captain  Macklin 

hours'  leave,  and  I  wasted  no  time  in  running 
down  from  the  Point  to  make  the  acquaintance 
of  my  cousin,  and  to  see  how  the  home  looked 
under  the  new  regime.  I  found  it  changed, 
and,  except  that  I  felt  then  and  afterward  that  I 
was  a  guest,  it  was  changed  for  the  better. 

I  found  that  my  grandfather  was  much  more 
comfortable  in  every  way.  The  newcomers  were 
both  eager  and  loving,  although  no  one  could 
help  but  love  my  grandfather,  and  they  invented 
wants  he  had  never  felt  before,  and  satisfied 
them,  while  at  the  same  time  they  did  not  inter 
fere  with  the  life  he  had  formerly  led.  Aunt 
Mary  is  an  unselfish  soul,  and  most  content 
when  she  is  by  herself  engaged  in  the  affairs  of 
the  house  and  in  doing  something  for  those  who 
live  in  it.  Besides  her  unselfishness,  which  is  to 
me  the  highest  as  it  is  the  rarest  of  virtues,  hers 
is  a  sweet  and  noble  character,  and  she  is  one  of 
the  gentlest  souls  that  I  have  ever  known. 

I  may  say  the  same  of  my  cousin  Beatrice. 
When  she  came  into  the  room,  my  first  thought 
was  how  like  she  was  to  a  statuette  of  a  Dresden 
shepherdess  which  had  always  stood  at  one  end 
of  our  mantel-piece,  coquetting  with  the  shepherd 
lad  on  the  other  side  of  the  clock.  As  a  boy, 
the  shepherdess  had  been  my  ideal  of  feminine 
loveliness.  Since  then  my  ideals  had  changed 

23 


Captain  Macklin 

rapidly  and  often,  but  Beatrice  reminded  me  that 
the  shepherdess  had  once  been  my  ideal.  She 
wore  a  broad  straw  hat,  with  artificial  roses  which 
made  it  hang  down  on  one  side,  and,  as  she  had 
been  working  in  our  garden,  she  wore  huge 
gloves  and  carried  a  trowel  in  one  hand.  As  she 
entered,  my  grandfather  rose  hastily  from  his 
chair  and  presented  us  with  impressive  courtesy. 
"  Royal,"  he  said,  "  this  is  your  cousin,  Beatrice 
Endicott."  If  he  had  not  been  present,  I  think 
we  would  have  shaken  hands  without  restraint. 
But  he  made  our  meeting  something  of  a  cere 
mony.  I  brought  my  heels  together  and  bowed  as 
I  have  been  taught  to  do  at  the  Academy,  and  see 
ing  this  she  made  a  low  courtesy.  She  did  this 
apparently  with  great  gravity,  but  as  she  kept  her 
eyes  on  mine  I  saw  that  she  was  mocking  me.  If 
I  am  afraid  of  anything  it  has  certainly  never 
proved  to  be  a  girl,  but  I  confess  I  was  strangely 
embarrassed.  My  cousin  seemed  somehow  dif 
ferent  from  any  of  the  other  girls  I  had  met. 
She  was  not  at  all  like  those  with  whom  I  had 
danced  at  the  hotel  hops,  and  to  whom  I  gave 
my  brass  buttons  in  Flirtation  Walk.  She  was 
more  fine,  more  illusive,  and  yet  most  fascinating, 
with  a  quaint  old-fashioned  manner  that  at  times 
made  her  seem  quite  a  child,  and  the  next  mo 
ment  changed  her  into  a  worldly  and  charming 

24 


00 

•J 

CJ 

e 

o 


Captain  Macklin 

young  woman.  She  made  you  feel  she  was  much 
older  than  yourself  in  years  and  in  experience 
and  in  knowledge.  That  is  the  way  my  cousin 
appeared  to  me  the  first  time  I  saw  her,  when 
she  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room  courtesying 
mockingly  at  me  and  looking  like  a  picture  on 
an  old  French  fan.  That  is  how  she  has  since 
always  seemed  to  me — one  moment  a  woman, 
a.id  the  next  a  child ;  one  moment  tender  and 
kind  and  merry,  and  the  next  disapproving,  dis 
tant,  and  unapproachable. 

Up  to  the  time  I  met  Beatrice  I  had  never 
thought  it  possible  to  consider  a  girl  as  a  friend. 
For  the  matter  of  that,  I  had  no  friends  even 
among  men,  and  I  made  love  to  girls.  My  atti 
tude  toward  girls,  if  one  can  say  that  a  man  of 
eighteen  has  an  attitude,  was  always  that  of  the  de 
voted  admirer.  If  they  did  not  want  me  as  a  de 
voted  admirer,  I  put  them  down  as  being  proud 
and  haughty  or  "  stuck  up."  It  never  occurred  to 
me  then  that  there  might  be  a  class  of  girl  who, 
on  meeting  you,  did  not  desire  that  you  should  at 
once  tell  her  exactly  how  you  loved  her,  and  why. 
The  girls  who  came  to  Cranston's  certainly  seemed 
to  expect  you  to  set  their  minds  at  rest  on  that 
subject,  and  my  point  of  view  of  girls  was  taken 
entirely  from  them.  I  can  remember  very  well 
iny  pause  of  dawning  doubt  and  surprise  when  a 

25 


Captain  Macklin 

girl  first  informed  me  she  thought  a  man  who  told 
her  she  was  pretty  was  impertinent.  What  be 
wildered  me  still  more  on  that  occasion  was  that 
this  particular  girl  was  so  extremely  beautiful  that 
to  talk  about  anything  else  but  her  beauty  was  a 
waste  of  time.  It  made  all  other  topics  trivial, 
and  yet  she  seemed  quite  sincere  in  what  she  said, 
and  refused  to  allow  me  to  bring  our  talk  to  the 
personal  basis  of  "  what  I  am  to  you  "  and  <c  what 
you  are  to  me."  It  was  in  discussing  that  ques 
tion  that  I  considered  myself  an  artist  and  a  mas 
ter.  My  classmates  agreed  with  me  in  thinking 
as  I  did,  and  from  the  first  moment  I  came  here 
called  me  "  Masher "  Macklin,  a  sobriquet  of 
which  I  fear  for  a  time  I  was  rather  proud.  Cer 
tainly,  I  strove  to  live  up  to  it.  I  believe  I  dig 
nified  my  conduct  to  myself  by  calling  it  ff  flirta 
tion."  Flirtation,  as  I  understood  it,  was  a  sort 
of  game  in  which  I  honestly  believed  the  entire 
world  of  men  and  women,  of  every  class  and  age, 
were  eagerly  engaged.  Indeed,  I  would  have 
thought  it  rather  ungallant,  and  conduct  unworthy 
of  an  officer  and  a  gentleman,  had  I  not  at  once 
pretended  to  hold  an  ardent  interest  in  every  girl 
I  met.  This  seems  strange  now,  but  from  the 
age  of  fourteen  up  to  the  age  of  twenty  that  was 
my  way  of  regarding  the  girls  I  met,  and  even  to 
day  I  fear  my  attitude  toward  them  has  altered 

26 


Captain  Macklin 


but  slightly,  for  now,  although  I  no  longer 
tend  to  care  when  I  do  not,  nor  make  love  as  a 
matter  of  course,  I  find  it  is  the  easiest  attitude 
to  assume  toward  most  women.  It  is  the  sim 
plest  to  slip  into,  just  as  I  have  certainly  found  it 
the  one  from  which  it  is  most  difficult  to  escape^ 
But  I  never  seem  to  remember  that  until  it  is  too 
late.  A  classmate  of  mine  once  said  to  me  s 
"  Royal,  you  remind  me  of  a  man  walking  along 
a  road  with  garden  gates  opening  on  each  side  of 
it.  Instead  of  keeping  to  the  road,  you  stop  at 
every  gate,  and  say :  '  Oh !  what  a  pretty  gar 
den  !  I'll  just  slip  in  there,  and  find  out  where 
that  path  will  take  me.'  And  then — you're 
either  thrown  out,  and  the  gate  slammed  after 
you,  or  you  lose  yourself  in  a  maze  and  you  can't 
get  out — until  you  break  out.  But  does  that 
ever  teach  you  a  lesson  ?  No  !  Instead  of  going 
ahead  along  the  straight  and  narrow  way,  and 
keeping  out  of  temptation,  you  halt  at  the  very 
next  gate  you  come  to,  just  as  though  you  had 
never  seen  a  gate  before,  and  exclaim :  '  Now, 
this  is  a  pretty  garden,  and  what  a  neat  white 
fence !  I  really  must  vault  in  and  take  a  look 
round.'  And  so  the  whole  thing  is  gone  over 
again." 

I  confess  there  may  be  some  truth  in  what  he 
said,  but  the  trouble  I  find  with  the  straight  and 

27 


Captain  Macklin 

narrow  way  is  that  there's  not  room  enough  m  it 
for  two.  And,  then,  it  is  only  fair  to  me  to  say 
that  some  of  the  gardens  were  really  most  beau 
tiful,  and  the  shade  very  deep  and  sweet  there, 
and  the  memories  of  the  minutes  I  passed  in 
them  were  very  refreshing  when  I  went  back 
to  the  dust  of  the  empty  road.  And  no  one, 
man  or  woman,  can  say  that  Royal  Macklin 
ever  trampled  on  the  flowers,  or  broke  the 
branches,  or  trespassed  in  another  man's  pri 
vate  grounds. 

It  was  my  cousin  Beatrice  who  was  responsible 
for  the  change  of  heart  in  me  toward  womankind. 
For  very  soon  after  she  came  to  live  with  us,  I 
noticed  that  in  regard  to  all  other  young  women 
I  was  growing  daily  more  exacting.  I  did  not 
admit  this  to  myself,  and  still  less  to  Beatrice,  be 
cause  she  was  most  scornful  of  the  girls  I  knew, 
and  mocked  at  them.  This  was  quite  unfair  of 
her,  because  she  had  no  real  acquaintance  with 
them,  and  knew  them  only  from  photographs  and 
tintypes,  of  which  I  had  a  most  remarkable  col 
lection,  and  of  what  I  chose  to  tell  her  about 
them.  I  was  a  good  deal  annoyed  to  find  that 
the  stories  which  appealed  to  me  as  best  illustrat 
ing  the  character  of  each  of  my  friends,  only 
seemed  to  furnish  Beatrice  with  fresh  material  for 
ridicule,  and  the  girls  of  whom  I  said  the  least 

28 


Captain  Macklin 

were  the  ones  of  whom  she  approved.  The  only 
girls  of  my  acquaintance  who  also  were  friends  of 
hers,  were  two  sisters  who  lived  at  Dobbs  Ferry, 
and  whose  father  owned  the  greater  part  of  it,  and 
a  yacht,  in  which  he  went  down  to  his  office  every 
morning.  But  Beatrice  held  that  my  manner 
even  to  them  was  much  too  free  and  familiar,  and 
that  she  could  not  understand  why  I  did  not  see 
that  it  was  annoying  to  them  as  well.  I  could 
not  tell  her  in  my  own  defence  that  their  manner 
to  me,  when  she  was  with  us  and  when  she  was 
not,  varied  in  a  remarkable  degree.  It  was  not 
only  girls  who  carried  themselves  differently  be 
fore  Beatrice  :  every  man  who  met  her  seemed  to 
try  and  show  her  the  best  in  him,  or  at  least  to 
suppress  any  thought  or  act  which  might  dis 
please  her.  It  was  not  that  she  was  a  prig,  or  an 
angel,  but  she  herself  was  so  fine  and  sincere,  and 
treated  all  with  such  an  impersonal  and  yet  gra 
cious  manner  that  it  became  contagious,  and  every 
body  who  met  her  imitated  the  model  she  uncon 
sciously  furnished.  I  was  very  much  struck  with 
this  when  she  visited  the  Academy.  Men  who 
before  her  coming  had  seemed  bold  enough  for 
any  game,  became  dumb  and  embarrassed  in  her 
presence,  and  eventually  it  was  the  officers  and 
instructors  who  escorted  her  over  the  grounds, 
while  I  and  my  acquaintances  among  the  cadets 

29 


Captain  Macklin 

formed  a  straggling  rear-guard  at  her  heels.  On 
account  of  my  grandfather,  both  she  and  my 
aunt  were  made  much  of  by  the  Commandant 
and  all  the  older  officers,  and  when  they  continued 
to  visit  the  Academy  they  were  honored  and  wel 
comed  for  themselves,  and  I  found  that  on  such 
occasions  my  own  popularity  was  enormously  in 
creased.  I  have  always  been  susceptible  to  the 
opinion  of  others.  Even  when  the  reigning  belle 
or  the  popular  man  of  the  class  was  not  to  me  per 
sonally  attractive,  the  fact  that  she  was  the  reigning 
belle  and  that  he  was  the  man  of  the  hour  made 
me  seek  out  the  society  of  each.  This  was  even 
so,  when,  as-  a  matter  of  fact,  I  should  have  much 
preferred  to  dance  with  some  less  conspicuous 
beauty  or  talk  with  a  more  congenial  companion. 
Consequently  I  began  to  value  my  cousin,  whom 
I  already  regarded  with  the  most  tremendous 
admiration,  for  those  lighter  qualities  which  are 
common  to  all  attractive  girls,  but  which  in  my 
awe  of  her  I  had  failed  to  recognize.  There  were 
many  times,  even,  when  I  took  myself  by  the 
shoulders  and  faced  the  question  if  I  were  not  in 
love  with  Beatrice.  I  mean  truly  in  love,  with 
that  sort  of  love  that  one  does  not  talk  about, 
even  to  one's  self,  certainly  not  to  the  girl.  As 
the  young  man  of  the  family,  I  had  assumed  the 
position  of  the  heir  of  the  house,  and  treated 

30 


Captain  Macklin 

Beatrice  like  a  younger  sister,  but  secretly  I  con 
sidered  her  in  no  such  light. 

Many  nights  when  on  post  I  would  halt  to 
think  of  her,  and  of  her  loveliness  and  high  sin 
cerity,  and  forget  my  duty  while  I  stood  with  my 
arms  crossed  on  the  muzzle  of  my  gun.  In  such 
moments  the  night,  the  silence,  the  moonlight 
piercing  the  summer  leaves  and  falling  at  my  feet, 
made  me  forget  my  promise  to  myself  that  I 
would  never  marry.  I  used  to  imagine  then  it 
was  not  the  unlicked  cubs  under  the  distant  tents 
I  was  protecting,  but  that  I  was  awake  to  watch 
over  and  guard  Beatrice,  or  that  I  was  a  knight, 
standing  his  vigil  so  that  he  might  be  worthy  to 
wear  the  Red  Cross  and  enter  her  service.  In 
those  lonely  watches  I  saw  littlenesses  and  mean 
nesses  in  myself,  which  I  could  not  see  in  the 
brisk  light  of  day,  and  my  self-confidence  slipped 
from  me  and  left  me  naked  and  abashed.  I  saw 
myself  as  a  vain,  swaggering  boy,  who,  if  he  ever 
hoped  to  be  a  man  among  men,  such  as  Beatrice 
was  a  woman  above  all  other  women,  must  change 
his  nature  at  once  and  forever. 

I  was  glad  that  I  owed  these  good  resolutions 
to  her.  I  was  glad  that  it  was  she  who  inspired 
them.  Those  nights,  as  I  leaned  on  my  gun,  I 
dreamed  even  that  it  might  end  happily  and  beau 
tifully  in  our  marriage.  I  wondered  if  I  could 

31 


Captain  Macklin 

make  her  care,  if  I  could  ever  be  worthy  of  her, 
and  I  vowed  hotly  that  I  v/ould  love  her  as  no 
other  woman  was  ever  loved. 

And  then  I  would  feel  the  cold  barrel  of  my 
musket  pressing  against  the  palm  of  my  hand,  or 
the  bayonet  would  touch  my  cheek,  and  at  the 
touch  something  would  tighten  in  my  throat,  and 
I  would  shake  the  thoughts  from  me  and  remem 
ber  that  I  was  sworn  to  love  only  my  country 
and  my  country's  flag. 

In  my  third  year  here  my  grandfather  died. 
As  the  winter  closid  in  he  had  daily  grown  more 
feeble,  and  sat  hour  after  hour  in  his  great  arm 
chair,  dozing  and  dreaming,  before  the  open  fire. 
And  one  morning  when  he  was  alone  in  the 
room,  Death,  which  had  so  often  taken  the  man 
at  his  side,  and  stood  at  salute  to  let  him  live  un 
til  his  work  was  done,  came  to  him  and  touched 
him  gently.  A  few  days  later  when  his  body 
passed  through  the  streets  of  our  little  village,  all 
the  townspeople  left  their  houses  and  shops,  and 
stood  in  silent  rows  along  the  sidewalks,  with 
their  heads  uncovered  to  the  falling  snow.  Sol 
diers  of  his  old  regiments,  now  busy  men  of 
affairs  in  the  great  city  below  us,  came  to  march 
behind  him  for  the  last  time.  Officers  of  the 
Loyal  Legion,  veterans  of  the  Mexican  War,  reg 
ulars  from  Governor's  Island,  with  their  guns  re- 

32 


Captain  Macklin 

versed,  societies,  political  clubs,  and  strangers  who 
knew  him  only  by  what  he  had  done  for  his 
country,  followed  in  the  long  procession  as  it 
wound  its  way  through  the  cold,  gray  winter  day 
to  the  side  of  the  open  grave.  Until  then  I  had 
not  fully  understood  what  it  meant  to  me,  for 
my  head  had  been  numbed  and  dulled;  but  as 
the  body  disappeared  into  the  grave,  and  the  slow 
notes  of  the  bugle  rose  in  the  final  call  of  "  Lights 
out,"  I  put  my  head  on  my  aunt's  shoulder  and 
cried  like  a  child.  And  I  felt  as  though  I  were  a 
child  again,  as  I  did  when  he  came  and  sat  beside 
my  bed,  and  heard  me  say  my  prayers,  and  then 
closed  the  door  behind  him,  leaving  me  in  the 
darkness  and  alone. 

But  I  was  not  entirely  alone,  for  Beatrice  was 
true  and  understanding ;  putting  her  own  grief 
out  of  sight,  caring  for  mine,  and  giving  it  the 
first  place  in  her  thoughts.  For  the  next  two 
days  we  walked  for  hours  through  the  autumn 
woods  where  the  dead  leaves  rustled  beneath  our 
feet,  thinking  and  talking  of  him.  Or  for  hours 
we  would  sit  in  silence,  until  the  sun  sank  a 
golden  red  behind  the  wall  of  the  Palisades,  and 
we  went  back  through  the  cold  night  to  the  open 
fireside  and  his  empty  chair. 


Captain  Macklin 


ST.   CHARLES  HOTEL, 
NEW  ORLEANS 

Six  months  ago  had  anyone  told  me  that  the 
day  would  come  when  I  would  feel  thankful  for 
the  loss  of  my  grandfather,  I  would  have  struck 
him.  But  for  the  last  week  I  have  been  almost 
thankful  that  he  is  dead.  The  worst  that  could 
occur  has  happened.  I  am  in  bitter  disgrace,  and 
I  am  grateful  that  grandfather  died  before  it  came 
upon  me.  I  have  been  dismissed  from  the  Acad 
emy.  The  last  of  the  "Fighting"  Macklins  has 
been  declared  unfit  to  hold  the  President's  com 
mission.  I  am  cast  out  irrevocably ;  there  is  no 
appeal  against  the  decision.  I  shall  never  change 
the  gray  for  the  blue.  I  shall  never  see  the 
U.  S.  on  my  saddle-cloth,  nor  salute  my  country's 
flag  as  it  comes  fluttering  down  at  sunset. 

That  I  am  on  my  way  to  try  and  redeem  my- 
self  is  only  an  attempt  to  patch  up  the  broken 
pieces.  The  fact  remains  that  the  army  has  no 
use  for  me.  I  have  been  dismissed  from  West 
Point,  in  disgrace.  It  was  a  girl  who  brought  it 
about,  or  rather  my  own  foolishness  over  a  girl. 
And  before  that  there  was  much  that  led  up  to  it. 
Jt  is  hard  to  write  about  it,  but  in  these  memoirs 
I  mean  to  tell  everything — the  good,  with  the 
bad.  And  as  I  deserve  no  excuse,  I  make  none. 

During  that  winter,  after  the  death  of  my 
34 


Captain  Macklin 

grandfather,  and  the  spring  which  had  followed,  I 
tried  hard  to  do  well  at  the  Point.  I  wanted  to 
show  them  that  though  my  grandfather  was  gone, 
his  example  and  his  wishes  still  inspired  me. 
And  though  I  was  not  a  studious  cadet,  I  was  a 
smart  soldier,  and  my  demerits,  when  they  came, 
were  for  smoking  in  my  room  or  for  breaking 
some  other  such  silly  rule,  and  never  for  slouch 
ing  through  the  manual  or  coming  on  parade  with 
my  belts  twisted.  And  at  the  end  of  the  second 
year  I  had  been  promoted  from  corporal  to  be  a 
cadet  first  sergeant,  so  that  I  was  fourth  in  com 
mand  over  a  company  of  seventy.  Although  this 
gave  me  the  advantage  of  a  light  after  "  taps  " 
until  eleven  o'clock,  my  day  was  so  taken  up 
with  roll-calls,  riding  and  evening  drills  and  pa 
rade,  that  I  never  seemed  to  find  time  to  cram 
my  mechanics  and  chemistry,  of  which  latter  I 
could  never  see  any  possible  benefit.  How  a 
knowledge  of  what  acid  will  turn  blue  litmus- 
paper  red  is  going  to  help  an  officer  to  find  fod 
der  for  his  troop  horses,  or  inspire  him  to  lead  a 
forlorn  hope,  was  then,  and  still  is,  beyond  my 
youthful  comprehension. 

But  these  studies  were  down  on  the  roster,  and 
whether  I  thought  well  of  them  or  not  I  was 
marked  on  them  and  judged  accordingly.  But  I 
cannot  claim  that  it  was  owing  to  them  or  my 

35 


Captain  Macklin 

failure  to  understand  them  that  my  dismissal 
came,  for,  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  3*5  in  my 
markings  and  the  abundance  of  2*s,  I  was  still  a 
soldierly  cadet,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  was 
a  stupid  student,  I  made  an  excellent  drill-master. 

The  trouble,  when  it  came,  was  all  my  own 
making,  and  my  dismissal  was  entirely  due  to  an 
act  of  silly  recklessness  and  my  own  idiocy.  I 
had  taken  chances  before  and  had  not  been 
caught ;  several  times  I  ran  the  sentries  at  night 
for  the  sake  of  a  noisy,  drunken  spree  at  a  road 
side  tavern,  and  several  times  I  had  risked  my 
chevrons  because  I  did  not  choose  to  respect  the 
arbitrary  rules  of  the  Academy  which  chafed  my 
spirit  and  invited  me  to  rebellion.  It  was  not  so 
much  that  I  enjoyed  those  short  hours  of  free 
dom,  which  I  snatched  in  the  face  of  such  serious 
penalties,  but  it  was  the  risk  of  the  thing  itself 
which  attracted  me,  and  which  stirred  the  spirit 
of  adventure  that  at  times  sways  us  all. 

It  was  a  girl  who  brought  about  my  dismissal. 
I  do  not  mean  that  she  was  in  any  way  to  blame, 
but  she  was  the  indirect  cause  of  my  leaving  the 
Academy.  It  was  a  piece  of  fool's  fortune,  and  I 
had  not  even  the  knowledge  that  I  cared  in  the 
least  for  the  girl  to  console  me.  She  was  only 
one  of  the  several  "  piazza  girls,"  as  we  called 
certain  ones  of  those  who  were  staying  at  Crans* 

36 


Captain  Macklin 

ton's,  with  whom  I  had  danced,  to  whom  1  had 
made  pretty  speeches,  and  had  given  the  bell 
button  that  was  sewn  just  over  my  heart.  She 
certainly  was  not  the  best  of  them,  for  I  can  see 
now  that  she  was  vain  and  shallow,  with  a  pert 
boldness,  which  I  mistook  for  vivacity  and  wit. 
Three  years  ago,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  my  knowl 
edge  of  women  was  so  complete  that  I  divided 
them  into  six  classes,  and  as  soon  as  I  met  a  new 
one  1  placed  her  in  one  of  these  classes  and 
treated  her  according  to  the  line  of  campaign  I 
had  laid  down  as  proper  for  that  class.  Now,  at 
twenty-three,  1  believe  that  there  are  as  many 
different  kinds  of  women  as  there  are  women,  but 
that  all  kinds  are  good.  Some  women  are  better 
than  others,  but  all  are  good,  and  all  are  differ 
ent.  This  particular  one  unknowingly  did  me  a 
great  harm,  but  others  have  given  me  so  much 
that  is  for  good,  that  the  balance  side  is  in  their 
favor.  If  a  man  is  going  to  make  a  fool  of  him 
self,  I  personally  would  rather  see  him  do  it  on 
account  of  a  woman  than  for  any  other  cause. 
For  centuries  Antony  has  been  held  up  to  the 
scorn  of  the  world  because  he  deserted  his  troops 
and  his  fleet,  and  sacrificed  the  Roman  Empire 
for  the  sake  of  Cleopatra.  Of  course,  that  is  the 
one  thing  a  man  cannot  do,  desert  his  men  and 
betray  his  flag ;  but,  if  he  is  going  to  make  a  bad 

37 


break  in  life,  1  rather  like  his  doing  it  for  the 
Sove  of  a  woman.  And,  after  all,  it  is  rather  fine 
to  have  for  once  felt  something  in  you  so  great 
that  you  placed  it  higher  than  the  Roman  Empire. 

I  haven't  the  excuse  of  any  great  feeling  in  my 
case.  She,  the  girl  at  Cranston's,  was  leaving  the 
Point  on  the  morrow,  and  she  said  if  all  I  had 
sworn  to  her  was  true  I  would  run  the  sentries 
that  night  to.  dance  with  her  at  the  hop.  Of 
course,  love  does  not  set  tests  nor  ask  sacrifices^ 
but  I  had  sworn  that  I  had  loved  her,  as  I  under 
stood  the  world,  and  I  told  her  I  would  come. 
I  came,  and  I  was  recognized  as  I  crossed  the 
piazza  to  the  ball-room.  On  the  morning  fol 
lowing  I  was  called  to  the  office  of  the  Command 
ant  and  was  told  to  pack  my  trunk.  I  was  out 
of  uniform  in  an  hour,  and  that  night  at  parade 
the  order  of  the  War  Department  dismissing  me 
from  the  service  was  read  to  the  assembled 
battalion. 

I  cannot  write  about  that  day.  It  was  a  very 
bright,  beautiful  day,  full  of  life  and  sunshine,  and 
I  remember  that  I  wondered  how  the  world  could 
be  so  cruel  and  unfeeling.  The  other  second 
classmen  came  in  while  I  was  packing  my  things,, 
to  say  that  they  were  sorry.  They  were  kind 
enough ;  and  some  of  them  wanted  me  to  go  off 
to  New  York  to  friends  of  theirs  and  help  upset 

38 


We  walked  out  to  the  woods. 


Captain  Macklin 

it  ana  get  drunk.  Their  idea  was,  I  suppose,  to 
show  the  authorities  how  mistaken  they  had  been 
m  not  making  me  an  officer.  But  I  could  not  be 
civil  to  any  of  them.  I  hated  Tthem  all,  and  the 
place,  and  everyone  in  it.  When  I  was  dismissed 
my  first  thought  was  one  of  utter  thankfulness 
that  my  grandfather  died  before  the  disgrace  came 
upon  me,  and  after  that  I  did  not  much  care.  I 
was  desperate  and  bitterly  miserable.  I  knew,  as 
the  authorities  could  not  know,  that  no  one  in 
my  class  felt  more  loyal  to  the  service  than  my 
self;  that  I  would  have  died  twenty  deaths  for 
my  country;  that  there  was  no  one  company  post 
in  the  West,  however  distant  from  civilization, 
that  would  not  have  been  a  paradise  to  me ;  that 
there  was  no  soldier  in  the  army  who  would  have 
served  more  devotedly  than  myself.  And  now  I 
was  found  wanting  and  thrown  out  to  herd  with 
civilians,  as  unfit  to  hold  the  President's  commis 
sion.  After  my  first  outbreak  of  impotent  rage — 
for  I  blamed  everyone  but  myself — remorse  set  in, 
and  I  thought  of  grandfather  and  of  how  much 
he  had  done  for  our  country,  and  how  we  had 
talked  so  confidently  together  of  the  days  when  I 
would  follow  in  his  footsteps,  as  his  grandchild, 
and  as  the  son  of ff  Fighting  Macklin." 

All  my  life  I  had  talked  and  thought  of  noth 
ing  else,  and  now,  just  as  I  was  within  a  year  of 

39 


Captain  Macklin 

it,  I  was  shown  the  door  which  I  never  can  entei 
again* 

That  it  might  be  easier  for  us  when  1  arrived, 
I  telegraphed  Beatrice  what  had  happened,  and 
when  I  reached  the  house  the  same  afternoon 
she  was  waiting  for  me  at  the  door,  as  though  I 
was  coming  home  for  a  holiday  and  it  was  all  as 
it  might  have  been.  But  neither  of  us  was  de 
ceived,  and  without  a  word  we  walked  out  of  the 
garden  and  up  the  hill  to  the  woods  where  we 
had  last  been  together  six  months  before,  Since 
then  all  had  changed.  Summer  had  come,  the 
trees  were  heavy  with  leaves,  and  a  warm  haze 
hung  over  the  river  and  the  Palisades  beyond 
We  seated  ourselves  on  a  fallen  tree  at  the  top  of 
the  hill  and  sat  in  silence,  looking  down  into  the 
warm,  beautiful  valley.  It  was  Beatrice  who  was 
the  first  to  speak. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  what  you  can  do/' 
she  began,  gently,  "  and  it  seems  to  me,  Royal, 
that  what  you  need  now  is  a  good  rest.  It  has 
been  a  hard  winter  for  you.  You  have  had  to 
meet  the  two  greatest  trials  that  I  hope  will  ever 
come  to  you.  You  took  the  first  one  well,  as 
you  should,  and  you  will  take  this  lesser  one  well 
also ;  I  know  you  will.  But  you  must  give 
yourself  time  to  get  over  this — this  disappoint 
ment,  and  to  look  about  you.  You  must  try  to 

40 


Captain  Macklin 

content  yourself  at  home  with  mother  and  with 
me.  I  am  so  selfish  that  I  am  almost  glad  it  has 
happened,  for  now  for  a  time  we  shall  have  you 
with  us,  all  to  ourselves,  and  we  can  take  care  of 
you  and  see  that  you  are  not  gloomy  and  mor 
bid.  And  then  when  the  fall  comes  you  will 
have  decided  what  is  best  to  do,  and  you  will 
have  a  rest  and  a  quiet  summer  with  those  who 
understand  you  and  love  you.  And  then  you 
can  go  out  into  the  world  to  do  your  work,  what 
ever  your  work  is  to  be." 

I  turned  toward  her  and  stared  at  her  curi 
ously. 

"  Whatever  my  work  is  to  be,"  I  repeated. 
"  That  was  decided  for  me,  Beatrice,  when  I  was 
a  little  boy." 

She  returned  my  look  for  a  moment  in  some 
doubt,  and  then  leaned  eagerly  forward.  "You 
mean  to  enlist?"  she  askea. 

"  To  enlist  ?  Not  I  !  "  I  answered  hotly. 
"If  I'm  not  fit  to  be  an  officer  now,  I  never  shall 
be,  at  least  not  by  that  road.  Do  you  know 
what  it  means  ?  It's  the  bitterest  life  a  man  can 
follow.  He  is  neither  the  one  thing  nor  the 
other.  The  enlisted  men  suspect  him,  and  the 
officers  may  not  speak  with  him.  I  know  one 
officer  who  got  his  commission  that  way.  He 
swears  now  he  would  rather  have  served  the  time 


Captain  Macklin 

in  jail.  The  officers  at  the  post  pointed  him  out. 
to  visitors,  as  the  man  who  had  failed  at  West 
Point,  and  who  was  working  his  way  up  from  the 
ranks,  and  the  men  of  his  company  thought  that 
he  thought,  God  help  him,  that  he  was  too  good 
for  them,  and  made  his  life  hell.  Do  you  sup 
pose  I'd  show  my  musket  to  men  of  my  old 
mess,  and  have  the  girls  I've  danced  with  see  me 
marching  up  and  down  a  board  walk  with  a  gun 
on  my  shouHer  ?  Do  you  see  me  going  on 
errands  for  the  men  I've  hazed,  and  showing 
them  my  socks  and  shirts  at  inspection  so  they 
Ct*n  give  me  a  good  mark  for  being  a  clean  and 
tidy  soldier?  No  !  I'll  not  enlist.  If  I'm  not 
good  enough  to  carry  a  sword  I'm  not  good 
enough  to  carry  a  gun,  and  the  United  States 
Army  can  struggle  along  without  me." 

Beatrice  shock  her  head. 

"  Don't  say  anything  you'll  be  sorry  for, 
Royal,"  she  warned  me. 

"  You  don't  understand,"  I  interrupted.  "  I'm 
not  saying  anything  against  my  own  country  or  our 
army  —  how  can  I?  I've  proved  clearly  enough 
that  I'm  not  fit  for  it.  I'm  only  too  grateful. 
I've  had  three  years  in  the  best  military  school 
in  the  world,  at  my  country's  expense,  and  I'm 
grateful.  Yes,  and  I'm  miserable,  too,  that  I 
have  failed  to  deserve  it." 

Aft 


Captain  Macklin 

I  stood  up  and  straightened  my  shoulders, 
u  But  perhaps  there  are  other  countries  less  diffi« 
cult  to  please,"  I  said,  ct  where  I  can  lose  myself 
and  be  forgotten,  and  where  I  can  see  service. 
After  all,  a  soldier's  business  is  to  fight,  not  to 
sit  at  a  post  all  day  or  to  do  a  clerk's  work  at 
Washington." 

Even  as  I  spoke  these  chance  words  I  seemed 
to  feel  the  cloud  of  failure  and  disgrace  passing 
from  me.  I  saw  vaguely  a  way  to  redeem  my 
self,  and,  though  I  had  spoken  with  bravado  and 
at  random,  the  words  stuck  in  my  mind,  and  my 
despondency  fell  from  me  like  a  heavy  knapsack. 

"  Come,"  I  said,  cheerfully,  "  there  can  be  no 
talk  of  a  holiday  for  me  until  I  have  earned  it. 
You  know  I  would  love  to  stay  here  now  with 
you  and  Aunt  in  the  old  house,  but  I  have  no 
time  to  mope  and  be  petted.  If  you  fall  down, 
you  must  not  lie  in  the  road  and  cry  over  your 
bruised  shins ;  you  must  pick  yourself  up  and 
go  on  again,  even  if  you  are  a  bit  sore  and 
dirty." 

We  said  nothing  more,  but  my  mind  was  made 
up,  and  when  we  reached  the  house  I  went  at 
once  to  my  room  and  repacked  my  trunk  for  a 
long  journey.  It  was  a  leather  trunk  in  which 
my  grandfather  used  to  carry  his  sword  and  uni 
form,  and  in  it  I  now  proudly  placed  the  presen- 

43 


Captain  Macklin 

Cation  sword  he  had  bequeathed  to  me  in  his 
will,  and  my  scanty  wardrobe  and  $500  of  the 
money  he  had  left  to  me.  All  the  rest  of  his 
fortune,  with  the  exception  of  the  $2,000  a  year 
he  had  settled  upon  me,  he  had,  I  am  glad  to  say, 
bequeathed  with  the  house  to  Aunt  Mary  and 
Beatrice.  When  I  had  finished  my  packing  1 
joined  them  at  supper,  and  such  was  my  elation 
at  the  prospect  of  at  once  setting  forth  to  redeem 
myself,  and  to  seek  my  fortune,  that  to  me  the 
meal  passed  most  cheerfully.  When  it  was  fin 
ished,  I  found  the  paper  of  that  morning,  and 
spreading  it  out  upon  the  table  began  a  careful 
search  in  the  foreign  news  for  what  tidings  there 
might  be  of  war. 

I  told  Beatrice  what  I  was  doing,  and  without 
a  word  she  brought  out  my  old  school  atlas,  and 
together  under  the  light  of  the  student-lamp  we 
sought  out  the  places  mentioned  in  the  foreign 
despatches,  and  discussed  them,  and  the  chances 
they  might  offer  me. 

There  were,  I  remember,  at  the  time  that  paper 
was  printed,  strained  relations  existing  between 
France  and  China  over  the  copper  mines  in  Ton 
kin  ;  there  was  a  tribal  war  in  Upper  Burmah 
with  native  troops ;  there  was  a  threat  of  com 
plications  in  the  Balkans,  b-at  the  Balkans,  as  I 
have  since  learned,  are  always  with  us  and  always 

44 


Captain  Macklin 

threatening.  Nothing  in  the  paper  seemed  to 
offer  me  the  chance  I  sought,  and  apparently 
peace  smiled  on  every  other  portion  of  the  globe. 

"  There  is  always  the  mounted  police  in  Can 
ada,"  I  said,  tentatively. 

"  No,"  Beatrice  answered,  quietly,  and  with 
out  asking  her  reasons  I  accepted  her  decision 
and  turned  again  to  the  paper.  And  then  my 
eyes  fell  on  a  paragraph  which  at  first  I  had  over 
looked — a  modest,  brief  despatch  tucked  away  in 
a  corner,  and  unremarkable,  except  for  its  strange 
date-line.  It  was  headed,  "  The  Revolt  in  Hon 
duras."  I  pointed  to  it  with  my  finger,  and  Bea 
trice  leaned  forward  with  her  head  close  to  mine, 
•Mid  we  read  it  together. 

"Tegucigalpa,  June  lyth,"  it  read.  "The 
revolution  here  has  assumed  serious  proportions. 
President  Alvarez  has  proclaimed  martial  law 
over  all  provinces,  and  leaves  to-morrow  for 
Santa  Barbara,  where  the  Liberal  forces  under  the 
rebel  leader,  ex-President  Louis  Garcia,  were  last 
in  camp.  General  Laguerre  is  coming  from 
Nicaragua  to  assist  Garcia  with  his  foreign  legion 
of  200  men.  He  has  seized  the  Nancy  Miller, 
belonging  to  the  Isthmian  Line,  and  has  fitted 
her  with  two  Gatling  guns.  He  is  reported  to 
be  bombarding  the  towns  on  his  way  along  the 
coast,  and  a  detachment  of  Government  troops  is 

45 


Captain  Macklin 

marching  to  Porto  Cortez  to  prevent  his  landing. 
His  force  is  chiefly  composed  of  American  and 
other  aliens,  who  believe  the  overthrow  of  the 
present  government  will  be  beneficial  to  foreign 
residents." 

"  General  Laguerre  !  "  1  cried,  eagerly,  "  that 
is  not  a  Spanish  name.  General  Laguerre  must 
be  a  Frenchman.  And  it  says  that  the  men  with 
him  are  Americans,  and  that  the  present  govern 
ment  is  against  all  foreigners." 

I  drew  back  from  the  table  with  a  laugh,  and 
stood  smiling  at  Beatrice,  but  she  shook  her  head, 
even  though  she  smiled,  too. 

"  Oh,  not  that,"  she  said. 

"  My  dear  Beatrice,"  I  expostulated,  "  it  cer 
tainly  isn't  right  that  American  interests  in — - 
what's  the  name  of  the  place — in  Honduras, 
should  be  jeopardized,  is  it  ?  And  by  an  ignorant 
half-breed  like  this  President  What's-his-name  ? 
Certainly  not.  It  must  be  stopped,  even  if  we 
have  to  requisition  every  steamer  the  Isthmian 
Line  has  afloat." 

"  Oh,  Royal,"  Beatrice  cried,  "  you  are  not 
serious.  No,  you  wouldn't,  you  couldn't  be  so 
foolish.  That's  no  affair  of  yours.  That's  not 
your  country.  Besides,  that  is  not  war;  it  is 
speculation.  You  are  a  gentleman,  not  a  pirate 
and  a  filibuster." 

46 


Captain  Macklin 

"  "William  Walker  was  a  filibuster,"  I  answered 
**  He  took  Nicaragua  with  200  men  and  held  it 
for    two    years    against    20,000.     I    must    begin 
somewhere,"  I   cried,  "  why  not  there  ?      A  girl 
can't  understand  these  things — at  least,  some  girls 
can't — but  I  would    have    thought   you   wouM. 
What  does  it  matter  what  I  do  or  where  I  go  ? 
I  broke  out,  bitterly.     "  I  have  made  a  failure  of 
my  life  at  the  very  start.     I  am  sick  and  sore  and 
desperate.    I  don't  care  where  I  go  or  what " 

I  would  have  ranted  on  for  some  time,  no 
doubt,  but  that  a  look  from  Beatrice  stopped 
me  in  mid-air,  and  I  stood  silent,  feeling  some 
what  foolish, 

"  I  can  understand  this  much,"  she  said,  "  that 
you  are  a  foolish  boy.  How  dare  you  talk  of 
having  made  a  failure  of  your  life  ?  Your  life  has 
not  yet  begun.  You  have  yet  to  make  it,  and  to 
show  yourself  something  more  than  a  boy."  She 
paused,  and  then  her  manner  changed,  and  she 
came  toward  me,  looking  up  at  me  with  eyes  that 
were  moist  and  softened  with  a  sweet  and  troubled 
tenderness,  and  she  took  my  hand  and  held  it 
close  in  both  of  hers. 

I  had  never  seen  her  look  more  beautiful  than 
she  did  at  that  moment.  If  it  had  been  any  other 
woman  in  the  world  but  her,  I  would  have  caught 
her  in  my  arms  and  kissed  her  again  ind  again, 

47 


Captain  Macklin 

but  because  It  was  she  I  could  not  touch  her,  but 
drew  back  and  looked  down  into  her  eyes  with 
the  sudden  great  feeling  I  had  for  her.  And  so 
we  stood  for  a  moment,  seeing  each  other  as  we 
had  never  seen  each  other  before.  And  then  she 
caught  her  breath  quickly  and  drew  away.  But 
she  turned  her  face  toward  me  at  once,  and  looked 
up  at  me  steadily. 

"  I  am  so  fond  of  you,  Royal,'*  she  said, 
bravely,  "  you  know,  that — that  I  cannot  bear  to 
think  of  you  doing  anything  in  this  world  that  is 
not  fine  and  for  the  best.  But  if  you  will  be  a 
knight  errant,  and  seek  out  dangers  and  fight 
windmills,  promise  me  to  be  a  true  knight  and 
that  you  will  fight  only  when  you  must  and  only 
on  the  side  that  is  just,  and  then  you  will  come 
back  bringing  your  sheaves  with  you." 

I  did  not  dare  to  look  at  her,  but  I  raised  her 
hand  and  held  the  tips  of  her  fingers  against  my 
lips,  and  I  promised,  but  I  would  have  promised 
anything  at  that  moment. 

"  If  I  am  to  be  a  knight,"  I  said,  and  my  voice 
sounded  very  hoarse  and  boyish,  so  that  I  hardly 
recognized  it  as  my  own,  "you  must  give  me 
your  colors  to  wear  on  my  lance,  and  if  any  other 
knight  thinks  his  colors  fairer,  or  the  lady  who 
gave  them  more  lovely  than  you,  I  shall  kill 
him." 

48 


Captain  Macklin 

She  laughed  softly  and  moved  away. 

"  Of  course,"  she  said,  "  of  course,  you  must 
kill  him."  She  stepped  a  few  feet  from  me,  and, 
raising  her  hands  to  her  throat,  unfastened  a  little 
gold  chain  which  she  wore  around  her  neck.  She 
took  it  off  and  held  it  toward  me.  "  Would  you 
like  this  ? "  she  said.  I  did  not  answer,  nor  did 
she  wait  for  me  to  do  so,  but  wound  the  chain 
around  my  wrist  and  fastened  it,  and  I  raised  it 
and  kissed  it,  and  neither  of  us  spoke.  She  went 
out  to  the  veranda  to  warn  her  mother  of  my  de 
parture,  and  I  to  tell  the  servants  to  bring  the 
carriage  to  the  door. 

A  few  minutes  later,  the  suburban  train  drew 
out  of  the  station  at  Dobbs  Ferry,  and  I  waved 
my  hand  to  Beatrice  as  she  sat  in  the  carriage 
looking  after  me.  The  night  was  warm  and  she 
wore  a  white  dress  and  her  head  was  uncovered, 
In  the  smoky  glare  of  the  station  lamps  I  could 
still  see  the  soft  tints  of  her  hair ;  and  as  the  train 
bumped  itself  together  and  pulled  forward,  I  felt 
a  sudden  panic  of  doubt,  a  piercing  stab  at  my 
heart,  and  something  called  on  me  to  leap  off  the 
car  that  was  bearing  me  away,  and  go  back  to  the 
white  figure  sitting  motionless  in  the  carriage, 
As  I  gripped  the  iron  railing  to  restrain  myself,  I 
felt  the  cold  sweat  springing  to  the  palm  of  my 
hand.  For  a  moment  I  forgot  the  end  of  my 

49 


Captain  Macklin 

long  journey.  I  saw  it  as  something  foolish, 
mad,  fantastic.  I  was  snatching  at  a  flash  of 
powder,  when  I  could  warm  my  hands  at  an  open 
fire.  I  was  deserting  the  one  thing  which  counted 
and  of  which  I  was  certain ;  the  one  thing  I 
loved.  And  then  the  train  turned  a  curve,  the 
lamps  of  the  station  and  the  white  ghostly  figure 
were  shut  from  me,  and  I  entered  the  glaring  car 
filled  with  close  air  and  smoke  and  smelling 
lamps.  I  seated  myself  beside  a  window  and 
leaned  far  out  into  the  night,  so  that  the  wind  of 
the  rushing  train  beat  in  my  face. 

And  in  a  little  time  the  clanking  car-wheels 
seemed  to  speak  to  me,  beating  out  the  words 
brazenly  so  that  I  thought  everyone  in  the  car 
must  hear  them. 

"  Turn  again,  turn  again,  Royal  Macklin,'* 
they  seemed  to  say  to  me.  "  She  loves  you, 
Royal  Macklin,  she  loves  you,  she  loves  you." 

And  I  thought  of  Dick  Whittington  when  the 
Bow  bells  called  to  him,  as  he  paused  in  the 
country  lane  to  look  l/ack  at  the  smoky  roof 
of  London,  and  they  had  offered  him  so  little, 
while  for  me  the  words  seemed  to  promise  the 
proudest  place  a  man  could  hold.  And  I  im 
agined  myself  still  at  home,  working  by  day  in 
5ome  New  York  office  and  coming  back  by  night 
to  find  Beatrice  at  the  station  waiting  for  me,  al- 

50 


Captain  Macklin 

ways  in  a  white  dress,  and  with  her  brown  hair 
glowing  in  the  light  of  the  lamps.  And  I  pict 
ured  us  taking  long  walks  together  above  the 
Hudson,  and  quiet,  happy  evenings  by  the  fire 
side.  But  the  rhythm  of  the  car-wheels  altered* 
and  from  "  She  loves  you,  she  loves  you,"  the 
refrain  now  came  brokenly  and  fiercely,  like  the 
reports  of  muskets  fired  in  hate  and  fear,  and 
mixed  with  their  roar  and  rattle  I  seemed  to  dis 
tinguish  words  of  command  in  a  foreign  tongues 
and  the  groans  of  men  wounded  and  dying.  And 
I  saw,  rising  above  great  jungles  and  noisome 
swamps,  a  long  mountain-range  piercing  a  burn 
ing,  naked  sky ;  and  in  a  pass  in  the  mountains  a. 
group  of  my  own  countrymen,  ragged  and  worn 
and  with  eyes  lit  with  fever,  waving  a  strange 
flag,  and  beset  on  every  side  by  dark-faced  sol 
diers,  and  I  saw  my  own  face  among  them, 
hollow-cheeked  and  tanned,  with  my  head  band 
aged  in  a  scarf;  I  felt  the  hot  barrel  of  a  rifle 
burning  my  palm,  I  smelt  the  pungent  odor  of 
spent  powder,  my  throat  and  nostrils  were  as 
sailed  with  smoke.  I  suffered  all  the  fierce  joy 
and  agony  of  battle,  and  the  picture  of  the  white 
figure  of  Beatrice  grew  dim  and  receded  from  me^ 
and  as  it  faded  the  eyes  regarded  me  wistfully  and 
reproached  me,  but  I  would  not  heed  them,  but 
turned  my  own  eyes  away.  And  again  I  saw  the 

5« 


Captain  Macklin 

menacing  negro  faces  and  the  burning  sunlight 
and  the  strange  flag  that  tossed  and  whimpered  in 
the  air  above  my  head,  the  strange  flag  of  un 
known,  tawdry  colors,  like  the  painted  face  of  a 
woman  in  the  street,  but  a  flag  at  which  I  cheered 
and  shouted  as  though  it  were  my  own,  as  though 
I  loved  it;  a  flag  for  which  I  would  fight  and 
die. 

The  train  twisted  its  length  into  the  great  sta 
tion,  the  men  about'me  rose  and  crowded  down 
the  aisle,  and  I  heard  the  cries  of  newsboys  and 
hackmen  and  jangling  car-bells,  and  all  the  roar 
and  tumult  of  a  great  city  at  night. 

But  I  had  already  made  my  choice.  Within 
an  hour  I  had  crossed  to  the  Jersey  side,  and  was 
speeding  south,  south  toward  New  Orleans,  tow 
ard  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  toward  Honduras,  to 
Colonel  Laguerre  and  his  foreign  legion. 


II 


S.  S.   PANAMA, 

OFF  COAST  OF 


TO  one  who  never  before  had  travelled  farther 
than  is  Dobbs  Ferry  from  Philadelphia,  my 
journey  south  to  New  Orleans  was  something  m 
the  way  of  an  expedition,  and  I  found  it  rich  in 
incident  and  adventure.  Everything  was  new 
and  strange,  but  nothing  was  so  strange  as  my 
own  freedom.  After  three  years  of  discipline,  of 
going  to  bed  by  drum-call,  of  waking  by  drum- 
call,  and  obeying  the  orders  of  others,  this  new 
independence  added  a  supreme  flavor  to  all  my 
pleasures.  I  .  took  my  journey  very  seriously, 
and  I  determined  to  make  every  little  incident 
contribute  to  my  better  knowledge  of  the  world, 
I  rated  the  chance  acquaintances  of  the  smoking- 
car  as  aids  to  a  clear  understanding  of  mankind, 
and  when  at  Washington  I  saw  above  the  house 
tops  the  marble  dome  of  the  Capitol  I  was  thrilled 
to  think  that  I  was  already  so  much  richer  in  ex 
perience. 

To  me  the  country  through  which  we  passed 
spoke  with  but  one  meaning^     I  saw  it  as  the 

S3 


Captain  Macklin 

chess-board  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  I  im 
agined  the  towns  fortified  and  besieged,  the  hills 
topped  with  artillery,  the  forests  alive  with  troops 
in  ambush,  and  in  my  mind,  on  account  of  their 
strategic  value  to  the  enemy,  I  destroyed  the 
bridges  over  which  we  passed.  The  passengers 
were  only  too  willing  to  instruct  a  stranger  in  the 
historical  values  of  their  country.  They  pointed 
out  to  me  where  certain  regiments  had  camped, 
where  homesteads  had  been  burned,  and  where 
real  battles,  not  of  my  own  imagining,  but  which 
had  cost  the  lives  of  many  men,  had  been  lost 
and  won.  I  found  that  to  these  chance  acquaint 
ances  the  events  of  which  they  spoke  were  as 
fresh  after  twenty  years  as  though  they  had  oc 
curred  but  yesterday,  and  they  accepted  my  curi 
osity  as  only  a  natural  interest  in  a  still  vital  sub 
ject.  I  judged  it  advisable  not  to  mention  that 
General  Hamilton  was  my  grandfather.  Instead 
I  told  them  that  I  was  the  son  of  an  officer  who 
had  died  for  the  cause  of  secession.  This  was 
the  first  time  I  had  ever  missed  an  opportunity 
of  boasting  of  my  relationship  to  my  distinguished 
grandparent,  and  I  felt  meanly  conscious  that  I 
was  in  a  way  disloyal.  But  they  were  so  gen 
uinely  pleased  when  they  learned  that  my  father 
had  fought  for  the  South,  that  I  lacked  the  cour 
age  to  tell  them  that  while  he  was  so  engaged  an- 

54 


Captain  Macklin 

other  relative  of  mine  had  driven  one  of  their  best 
generals  through  three  States. 

I  am  one  who  makes  the  most  of  what  he  sees, 
and  even  the  simplest  things  filled  me  with  de 
light  ;  my  first  sight  of  cotton-fields,  of  tobacco 
growing  in  the  leaf,  were  great  moments  to  me; 
and  that  the  men  who  guarded  the  negro  convicts 
at  work  in  the  fields  still  clung  to  the  uniform  of 
gray,  struck  me  as  a  fact  of  pathetic  interest. 

I  was  delayed  in  New  Orleans  for  only  one 
day.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I  secured  passage 
on  the  steamer  Panama.  She  was  listed  to  sail 
for  Aspinwall  at  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
and  to  touch  at  ports  along  the  Central  American 
coast.  While  waiting  for  my  steamer  I  mobilized 
my  transport  and  supplies,  and  purchased  such 
articles  as  I  considered  necessary  for  a  rough  cam 
paign  Li  a  tropical  climate.  My  purchases  con 
sisted  of  a  revolver,  a  money-belt,  in  which  to 
carry  my  small  fortune,  which  I  had  exchanged 
into  gold  double-eagles,  a  pair  of  field-glasses,  a 
rubber  blanket,  a  canteen,  riding  boots,  and  sad 
dle-bags.  I  decided  that  my  uniform  and  saddle 
would  be  furnished  me  from  the  quartermaster's 
department  of  Garcia's  army,  for  in  my  ignorance 
I  supposed  I  was  entering  on  a  campaign  con 
ducted  after  the  methods  of  European  armies. 

We  left  the  levees  of  New  Orleans  early  in  the 
55 


Captain  Macklin 

morning,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  steamed 
slowly  down  the  Mississippi  River.  I  sat  alone 
upon  the  deck  watching  the  low,  swampy  banks 
slipping  past  us  on  either  side,  the  gloomy  cypress- 
trees  heavy  with  gray  moss,  the  abandoned  cot 
ton-gins  and  disused  negro  quarters.  As  I  did 
so  a  feeling  of  homesickness  and  depression  came 
upon  me,  and  my  disgraceful  failure  at  the  Point, 
the  loss  of  my  grandfather,  and  my  desertion  of 
Beatrice,  for  so  it  began  to  seem  to  me,  filled  me 
with  a  bitter  melancholy. 

The  sun  set  the  first  day  over  great  wastes  of 
swamp,  swamp-land,  and  pools  of  inky  black, 
which  stretched  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  | 
gloomy,  silent,  and  barren  of  any  form  of  life.  It 
was  a  picture  which  held  neither  the  freedom  of 
the  open  sea  nor  the  human  element  of  the  solid 
earth.  It  seemed  to  me  as  though  the  world 
must  have  looked  so  when  darkness  brooded  over 
the  face  of  the  waters,  and  as  I  went  to  my  berth 
that  night  I  felt  as  though  I  were  saying  good-by 
forever  to  all  that  was  dear  to  me — my  country, 
my  home,  and  the  girl  I  loved. 

I  was  awakened  in  the  morning  by  a  motion 
which  I  had  never  before  experienced.  I  was 
being  gently  lifted  and  lowered  and  rolled  to  and 
fro  as  a  hammock  is  rocked  by  the  breeze.  For 
some  minutes  I  lay  between  sleep  and  waking, 

56 


Captain  Macklin 

struggling  back  to  consciousness,  until  with  a 
sudden  gasp  of  delight  it  came  to  me  that  at  last 
I  was  at  sea.  I  scrambled  from  my  berth  and 
pulled  back  the  curtains  of  the  air  port.  It  was 
as  though  over  night  the  ocean  had  crept  up  to 
my  window.  It  stretched  below  me  in  great  dis 
tances  of  a  deep,  beautiful  blue.  Tumbling  waves 
were  chasing  each  other  over  it,  and  millions  of 
white  caps  glanced  and  flashed  as  they  raced  by 
me  in  the  sun.  It  was  my  first  real  view  of  the 
ocean,  and  the  restlessness  of  it  and  the  freedom 
of  it  stirred  me  with  a  great  happiness.  I  drank 
in  its  beauty  as  eagerly  as  I  filled  my  lungs  with 
the  keen  salt  air,  and  thanked  God  for  both. 

The  three  short  days  which  followed  were  ful] 
of  new  and  delightful  surprises,  some  because  it 
was  all  so  strange  and  others  because  it  was  so 
exactly  what  I  had  hoped  it  would  be.  I  had 
read  many  tales  of  the  sea,  but  ships  I  knew  only 
as  they  moved  along  the  Hudson  at  the  end  of 
the  towing-line.  I  had  never  felt  one  rise  and 
fall  beneath  me,  nor  from  the  deck  of  one  watched 
the  sun  sink  into  the  water.  I  had  never  at 
night  looked  up  at  the  great  masts,  and  seen  them 
swing,  like  a  pendulum  reversed,  between  me  and 
the  stars. 

There  was  so  much  to  learn  that  was  new  anci 
*o  many  things  to  see  on  the  waters,  and  in  the 

57 


Captain  Macklin 

skies,  that  it  seemed  wicked  to  sleep.  So,  during 
nearly  the  whole  of  every  night,  I  stood  with 
Captain  Leeds  on  his  bridge,  or  asked  ignorant 
questions  of  the  man  at  the  wheel.  The  steward 
of  the  Panama  was  purser,  supercargo,  and  bar 
keeper  in  one,  and  a  most  interesting  man.  He 
apparently  never  slept,  but  at  any  hour  was  will 
ing  to  sit  and  chat  with  me.  It  was  he  who  first 
introduced  me  to  the  wonderful  mysteries  of  tha 
alligator  pear  as  a  salad,  and  taught  me  to  prefer, 
in  a  hot  country,  Jamaica  rum  with  half  a  lime 
squeezed  into  the  glass  to  all  other  spirits.  It 
was  a  most  educational  trip. 

I  had  much  entertainment  on  board  the  Pana 
ma  by  pretending  that  I  was  her  captain,  and  that 
she  was  sailing  under  my  orders.  Sometimes  I 
pretended  that  she  was  an  American  man-of-war, 
and  sometimes  a  filibuster  escaping  from  an 
American  man-of-war.  This  may  seem  an  absurd 
and  childish  game,  but  I  had  always  wanted  to 
hold  authority,  and  as  I  had  never  done  so,  ex 
cept  as  a  drill  sergeant  at  the  Academy,  it  was  my 
habit  to  imagine  myself  in  whatever  position  of 
responsibility  my  surroundings  suggested.  For 
this  purpose  the  Panama  served  me  excellently^ 
and  in  scanning  the  horizon  for  hostile  fleets  or  a 
pirate  flag  1  was  as  conscientious  as  was  the 
lookout  in  the  bow.  At  the  Academy  I  had 

58 


Captam  Macklin 

often  sat  in  my  room  with  maps  spread  out  be 
fore  me  planning  attacks  on  the  enemy,  consid 
ering  my  lines  of  communication,  telegraphing 
wildly  for  reinforcements,  and  despatching  my 
aides  with  a  clearly  written,  comprehensive  order 
to  where  my  advance  column  was  engaged.  1 
believe  this  "  play-acting,"  as  my  room-mate  used 
to  call  it,  helped  me  to  think  quickly,  to  give  an 
intelligent  command  intelligently,  and  made  me 
rich  in  resources. 

For  the  first  few  days  I  was  so  enchanted  with 
my  new  surroundings  that  the  sinister  purpose  of 
my  journey  South  lost  its  full  value.  And  when, 
as  we  approached  Honduras,  it  was  recalled  to 
me,  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  I  had  heard  no 
one  on  board  discuss  the  war,  nor  refer  to  it  in 
any  way.  When  I  considered  this,  I  was  the 
more  surprised  because  Porto  Cortez  was  one  of 
the  chief  ports  at  which  we  touched,  and  I  was 
annoyed  to  find  that  I  had  travelled  so  far  for  the 
sake  of  a  cause  in  which  those  directly  interested 
felt  so  little  concern.  I  set  about  with  great  cau 
tion  to  discover  the  reason  for  this  lack  of  interest, 
The  passengers  of  the  Panama  came  from  widely 
different  parts  of  Central  America.  They  were 
coffee  planters  and  mining  engineers,  concession 
hunters,  and  promoters  of  mining  companies.  I 
sounded  each  of  them  separately  as  to  the  condition 

59 


Captain  Macklin 

of  affairs  in  Honduras,  and  gave  as  my  reason  for 
mquiring  the  fact  that  I  had  thoughts  of  investing 
my  money  there.  I  talked  rather  largely  of  my 
money.  But  this  information,  instead  of  inducing 
them  to  speak  of  Honduras,  only  made  each  of 
them  more  eloquent  in  praising  the  particular 
republic  in  which  his  own  money  was  invested,  and 
each  begged  me  to  place  mine  with  his.  In  the 
course  of  one  day  I  was  offered  a  part  ownership  in 
four  coffee  plantations,  a  rubber  forest,  a  machine 
for  turning  the  sea-turtles  into  fat  and  shell,  and 
the  good-will  and  fixtures  of  a  dentist's  office. 

Except  that  I  obtained  some  reputation  on 
board  as  a  young  man  of  property,  which  reputa 
tion  I  endeavored  to  maintain  by  treating  everyone 
to  drinks  in  the  social  hall,  my  inquiries  led  to  no 
result.  No  one  apparently  knew,  nor  cared  to 
know,  of  the  revolution  in  Honduras,  and  passed 
it  over  as  a  joke.  This  hurt  me,  but  lest  they 
should  grow  suspicious,  I  did  not  continue  my 
inquiries. 

THE  CAFJI  SANTOS, 
SAGUA  LA  GRANDE,  HONDURAS 

We  sighted  land  at  seven  in  the  morn>'ig,  and 
as  the  ship  made  in  toward  the  shore  I  ran  to  the 
bow  and  stood  alone  peering  over  the  rail.  Before 
me  lay  the  scene  set  for  my  coming  adventures, 

60 


Captain  Macklin 

and  as  the  ship  threaded  the  coral  reefs,  my  excite 
ment  ran  so  high  that  my  throat  choked,  and  my 
eyes  suddenly  dimmed  with  tears.  It  seemed  too 
good  to  be  real.  It  seemed  impossible  that  it 
could  be  true;  that  at  last  I  should  be  about  to 
act  the  life  I  had  so  long  only  rehearsed  and  pre 
tended.  But  the  pretence  had  changed  to  some 
thing  living  and  actual.  In  front  of  me,  under  a 
flashing  sun,  I  saw  the  palm-fringed  harbor  of  my 
dreams,  a  white  village  of  thatched  mud  houses, 
a  row  of  ugly  huts  above  which  drooped  limply 
the  flags  of  foreign  consuls,  and,  far  beyond,  a 
deep  blue  range  of  mountains,  forbidding  and 
mysterious,  rising  out  of  a  steaming  swamp  into 
a  burning  sky,  and  on  the  harbor's  only  pier,  in 
blue  drill  uniforms  and  gay  red  caps,  a  group  of 
dark-skinned,  swaggering  soldiers.  This  hot, 
volcano-looking  land  was  the  one  I  had  come  to 
free  from  its  fetters.  These  swarthy  barefooted 
brigands  were  the  men  with  whom  I  was  to  fight, 
My  trunk  had  been  packed  and  strapped  since 
sunrise,  and  before  the  ship  reached  the  pier,  I 
had  said  c<  good-by  "  to  everyone  on  board  and 
was  waiting  impatiently  at  the  gang-way.  I  was 
the  only  passenger  to  leave,  and  no  cargo  was  un 
loaded  nor  taken  on.  She  was  waiting  only  for 
the  agent  of  the  company  to  confer  with  Captain 
Leeds,  and  while  these  men  were  conversing  on 

61 


Captain  Macklin 

the  bridge,  and  the  hawser  was  being  drawn  on 
board,  the  custom-house  officers,  much  to  my  dis 
quiet,  began  to  search  my  trunk.  I  had  nothing 
with  me  which  was  dutiable,  but  my  grandfather's 
presentation  sword  was  hidden  in  the  trunk  and 
its  presence  there  and  prospective  use  would  be 
difficult  to  explain.  It  was  accordingly  with  a 
feeling  of  satisfaction  that  I  noticed  on  a  building 
on  the  end  of  the  pier  the  sign  of  our  consulate 
and  the  American  flag,  and  that  a  young  man, 
evidently  an  American,  was  hurrying  from  it  tow 
ard  the  ship.  But  as  it  turned  out  I  had  no 
need  of  his  services,  for  I  had  concealed  the  sword 
so  cleverly  by  burying  each  end  of  it  in  one  of  my 
long  cavalry  boots,  that  the  official  failed  to  find  it. 

I  had  locked  my  trunk  again  and  was  waving 
final  farewells  to  those  on  the  Panama,  when  the 
young  man  from  the  consulate  began  suddenly  to 
race  down  the  pier,  shouting  as  he  came. 

The  gang-way  had  been  drawn  up,  and  the 
steamer  was  under  way,  churning  the  water  as  she 
swung  slowly  seaward,  but  she  was  still  within 
easy  speaking  distance  of  the  pierhead. 

The  young  man  rushed  through  the  crowd, 
jostling  the  native  Indians  and  negro  soldiers,  and 
shrieked  at  the  departing  vessel. 

"  Stop  ! "  he  screamed,  "  stop  !  stop  her !  " 

He  recognized  Captain  Leeds  on  the  bridge, 
62 


Captain  Macklin 

and,  running  along  the  pierhead  until  he  was  just 
below  it,  waved  wildly  at  him. 

"  Where's  my  freight  ? "  he  cried.  "  My  freight ! 
You  haven't  put  off  my  freight." 

Captain  Leeds  folded  his  arms  comfortably  upon 
the  rail,  and  regarded  the  young  man  calmly  and 
with  an  expression  of  amusement. 

"  Where  are  my  sewing-machines  ?  "  the  young 
man  demanded.  "  Where  are  the  sewing-machines 
invoiced  me  by  this  steamer?" 

"  Sewing-machines,  Mr.  Aiken  ?  "  the  Captain 
answered.  "  I  left  your  sewing-machines  in  New 
Orleans." 

"  You  what  ?  "  shrieked  the  young  man.  "  You 
•eft  them  ? "" 

"  I  left  them  sitting  on  the  company*s  levee," 
the  Captain  continued,  calmly,  "The  revenue 
officers  have  'em  by  now,  Mr.  Aiken.  Some  par 
ties  said  they  weren't  sewing-machines  at  all.  They 
said  you  were  acting  for  Laguerre." 

The  ship  was  slowly  drawing  away.  The  young 
man  stretched  out  one  arm  as  though  to  detain 
her,  and  danced  frantically  along  the  stringhead. 

"  How  dare  you  !  "  he  cried.  "I'm  a  commis 
sion  merchant.  I  deal  in  whatever  I  please — and 
I'm  the  American  Consul !  " 

The  Captain  laughed,  and  with  a  wave  of  his 
hand  in  farewell  backed  away  from  the  rail, 

63 


Captain  Macklin 

<c  That  may  be,"  he  shouted, c<  but  this  line  isn*t 
carrying  freight  for  General  Laguerre,  nor  for 
you,  neither."  He  returned  and  made  a  speaking 
trumpet  of  his  hands.  "  Tell  him  from  me,"  he 
shouted,  mockingly,  "  that  if  he  wants  his  sew 
ing-machines  he'd  better  go  North  and  steal  'em. 
Same  as  he  stole  our  Nancy  Miller." 

The  young  man  shook  both  his  fists  in  helpless 
anger. 

"  You  damned  banana  trader,"  he  shrieked, 
e*  you'll  lose  your  license  for  this.  I'll  fix  you  for 
this.  I'll  dirty  your  card  for  you,  you  pirate  !  " 

The  Captain  flung  himself  far  over  the  rail. 
He  did  not  need  a  speaking  trumpet  now — his 
voice  would  have  carried  above  the  tumult  of  a 
hurricane. 

"  You'll  what  ?  "  he  roared.  "  You'll  dirty  my 
card,  you  thieving  filibuster?  Do  you  know 
what  I'll  do  to  you  ?  I'll  have  your  tin  sign  taken 
away  from  you,  before  I  touch  this  port  again. 
You'll  see — you — you — "  he  ended  impotently 
for  lack  of  epithets,  but  continued  in  eloquent 
pantomime  to  wave  his  arms. 

With  an  oath  the  young  man  recognized  defeat, 
and  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Oh,  you  go  to  the  devil,"  he  shouted,  and 
turned  away.  He  saw  me  observing  him,  and 
as  I  was  the  only  person  present  who  looked  as 

64 


Captain  Macklin 


though  he  understood  English,  he  grinned  at  me 
sheepishly,  and  nodded. 

"  I  don't  care  for  him,"  he  said.  "He  can't 
frighten  me." 

I  considered  this  as  equivalent  to  an  introduc 
tion. 

"  You  are  the  United  States  Consul  ?  "  I  asked. 
The  young  man  nodded  briskly. 

f<  Yes  ;  I  am.     Where  do  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  Dobbs  Ferry,  near  New  York,"  I  answered. 
"  I'd — I'd  like  to  have  a  talk  with  you,  when 
you  are  not  busy." 

"  That's  all  right,"  he  said.  "  I'm  not  busy 
now.  That  bumboat  pirate  queered  the  only 
business  I  had.  Where  are  you  going  to  stop  ? 
There  is  only  one  place,"  he  explained ;  "  that's 
Pulido's.  He'll  knife  you  if  he  thinks  you  have 
five  dollars  in  your  belt,  and  the  bar-room  is  half 
under  water  anyway.  Or  you  can  take  a  cot  in 
my  shack,  if  you  like,  and  I'll  board  and  lodge 
you  for  two  pesos  a  day — that's  one  dollar  in  our 
money,  And  if  you  are  going  up  country,"  he 
went  on,  "  I  can  fit  you  out  with  mules  and 
mozos  and  everything  you  want,  from  canned 
meats  to  an  escort  of  soldiers.  You're  sure  to  be 
robbed  anyway,"  he  urged,  pleasantly,  "  and  you 
might  as  well  give  the  job  to  a  fellow-countryman, 
I'd  hate  to  have  one  of  these  greasers  get  it.'" 

65 


Captain  Macklin 

"  You're  welcome  to  try,"  I  said,  laughing. 

In  spite  of  his  manner,  which  was  much  too 
familiar  and  patronizing,  the  young  man  amused 
me,  and  I  must  confess  moreover  that  at  that 
moment  I  felt  very  far  from  home  and  was  glad 
to  meet  an  American,  and  one  not  so  much  older 
than  myself.  The  fact  that  he  was  our  consul 
struck  me  as  a  most  fortunate  circumstance. 

He  clapped  his  hands  and  directed  one  of  the 
negroes  to  carry  my  trunk  to  the  consulate,  and  I 
walked  with  him  up  the  pier,  the  native  soldiers 
saluting  him  awkwardly  as  he  passed.  He  re 
turned  their  salute  with  a  flourish,  and  more  to 
impress  me  I  guessed  than  from  any  regard  for 
them. 

"That's  because  I'm  Consul,"  he  said,  with 
satisfaction.  "  There's  only  eight  white  men  in 
Porto  Cortez,"  he  explained,  "  and  we're  all  con 
sular  agents.  The  Italian  consular  agent  is  a 
Frenchman,  and  an  Italian,  Guessippi — the  Ba 
nana  King,  they  call  him — is  consular  agent  for 
both  Germany  and  England,  and  the  only  Ger 
man  here  is  consular  agent  for  France  and  Hol 
land.  You  see,  each  of  'em  has  to  represent 
some  other  country  than  his  own,  because  his 
country  knows  why  he  left  it."  He  threw  back 
his  head  and  laughed  at  this  with  great  delight. 
Apparently  he  had  already  forgotten  the  rebuff 

66 


Captain  Mack] in 

• 

from  Captain  Leeds.  But  it  had  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  me.  I  had  heard  Leeds  virtu 
ally  accuse  the  consul  of  being  an  agent  of  Gen 
eral  Laguerre,  and  I  suspected  that  the  articles 
he  had  refused  to  deliver  were  more  likely  to  be 
TP^chine  guns  than  sewing-machines.  If  this 
were  frue,  Mr.  Aiken  was  a  person  in  whom  I 
could  confide  with  safety. 

The  consulate  was  a  one-story  building  of  cor 
rugated  iron,  hot,  unpainted,  and  unlovely.  It 
was  set  on  wooden  logs  to  lift  it  from  the  reach 
of  "  sand  jiggers  "  and  the  surf,  which  at  high 
tide  ran  up  the  beach,  under  and  beyond  it.  In 
side  it  was  rude  and  bare,  and  the  heat  and  the 
smell  of  the  harbor,  and  of  the  swamp  on  which 
the  town  was  built,  passed  freely  through  the 
open  doors. 

Aiken  proceeded  to  play  the  host  in  a  most 
cordial  manner.  He  placed  my  trunk  in  the  room 
I  was  to  occupy,  and  set  out  some  very  strong 
Hondurian  cigars  and  a  bottle  of  Jamaica  rum. 
While  he  did  this  he  began  to  grumble  over  the 
loss  of  his  sewing-machines,  and  to  swear  pictu 
resquely  at  Captain  Leeds,  bragging  of  the  awful 
things  he  meant  to  do  to  him  But  when  he  had 
tasted  his  drink  and  lighted  a.  cigar,  his  good- 
humor  returned,  and  he  gave  his  attention  Tc 
me, 

67 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Now  then,  young  one,"  he  asked,  in  a  tone 
of  the  utmost  familiarity,  "  what's  your  trouble  ?  " 

I  explained  that  I  could  not  help  but  hear  what 
the  Captain  shouted  at  him  from  the  Panama, 
and  I  asked  if  it  was  contrary  to  the  law  of 
Honduras  for  one  to  communicate  with  the 
officer  Captain  Leeds  had  mentioned — General 
Laguerre. 

"  The  old  man,  hey  ? "  Aiken  exclaimed  and 
stared  at  me  apparently  with  increased  interest. 
"  Well,  there  are  some  people  who  might  pre 
vent  your  getting  to  him,"  he  answered,  diplo 
matically.  For  a  moment  he  sipped  his  rum  and 
water,  while  he  examined  me  from  over  the  top 
of  the  cup.  Then  he  winked  and  smiled. 

"  Come  now,"  he  said,  encouragingly.  "  Speak 
up.  What's  the  game  ?  You  can  trust  me. 
You're  an  agent  for  Collins,  or  the  Winchester 
Arms  people,  aren't  you  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,"  I  said,  with  some  haughti 
ness,  "  I  am  serving  no  one's  interest  but  my 
own.  I  read  in  the  papers  of  General  Laguerre 
and  his  foreign  legion,  and  I  came  here  to  join 
him  and  to  fight  with  him.  That's  all.  I  am  a 
soldier  of  fortune,  I  said."  I  repeated  this  with 
some  emphasis,  for  I  liked  the  sound  of  it.  "  I 
am  a  soldier  of  fortune,  and  my  name  is  Macklin. 
*  hope  in  time  to  make  it  better  known." 

68 


Captain  Macklin 

"  A  soldier  of  fortune,  hey  ? "  exclaimed 
Aiken,  observing  me  with  a  grin.  "  What  sol 
diering  have  you  done  ?  " 

I  replied,  with  a  little  embarrassment,  that  as 
yet  I  had  seen  no  active  service,  but  that  for 
three  years  I  had  been  trained  for  it  at  West 
Point. 

"  At  West  Point,  the  deuce  you  have  !  "  said 
Aiken.  His  tone  was  now  one  of  respect,  and  he 
regarded  me  with  marked  interest.  He  was  not 
a  gentleman,  but  he  was  sharp-witted  enough  to 
recognize  one  in  me,  and  my  words  and  bearing 
had  impressed  him.  Still  his  next  remark  was 
disconcerting. 

"  But  if  you're  a  West  Point  soldier,"  he 
asked,  "  why  the  devil  do  you  want  to  mix  up  in 
a  shooting-match  like  this  ?  " 

I  was  annoyed,  but  I  answered,  Civilly :  "  It's 
in  a  good  cause,"  I  said.  "  As  I  understand  the 
sil  lation,  this  President  Alvarez  is  a  tyrant. 
He's  opposed  to  all  progress.  It's  a  fight  for 
liberty." 

Aiken  interrupted  me  with  a  laugh,  and  placed 
his  feet  on  the  table. 

"  Oh,  come,"  he  said,  in  a  most  offensive  tone. 
"  Play  fair,  play  fair." 

"  Play  fair  ?  What  do  you  mean  ? "  I  de 
manded. 

69 


Captain  Macklin 

"You  don't  expect  me  to  believe,"  he  said, 
jeeringly,  "  that  you  came  all  the  way  down  here, 
just  to  fight  for  the  sacred  cause  of  liberty." 

I  may  occasionally  exaggerate  a  bit  in  repre 
senting  myself  to  be  a  more  important  person 
than  I  really  am,  but  if  I  were  taught  nothing 
else  at  the  Point,  I  was  taught  to  tell  the  truth, 
and  when  Aiken  questioned  my  word  I  felt  the 
honor  of  the  whole  army  rising  within  me  and 
stiffening  my  back-bone. 

"  You  had  better  believe  what  I  tell  you,  sir," 
I  answered  him,  sharply.  "  You  may  not  know 
it,  but  you  are  impertinent !  " 

I  have  seldom  seen  a  man  so  surprised  as  was 
Aiken  when  I  made  this  speech.  His  mouth 
opened  and  remained  open  while  ,ie  slowly  re 
moved  his  feet  from  the  table  and  allowed  the 
legs  of  his  chair  to  touch  the  floor. 

"  Great  Scott,"  he  said  at  last,  "  but  you  have 
got  a  nasty  temper.  I'd  forgotten  that  folks  are 
so  particular." 

"  Particular — because  I  object  to  having  my 
word  doubted,"  I  asked.  "  I  must  request  you 
to  send  my  trunk  to  Pulido's.  I  fancy  you  and 
I  won't  hit  it  off  together."  I  rose  and  started 
to  leave  the  room,  but  he  held  out  his  hands  to 
prevent  me,  and  exclaimed,  in  consternation : 

"  Oh,  that's  no  way  to  treat  me,"  he  prr  tested* 
70 


Captain  Macklin 

"  I  didn*t  say  anything  for  you  to  get  on  your 
ear  about.  If  I  did,  I'm  sorry."  He  stepped 
forward,  offering  to  shake  my  hand,  and  as  I 
took  his  doubtfully,  he  pushed  me  back  into  my 
chair, 

"  You  mustn't  mind  me,"  he  went  on.  tc  It's 
been  so  long  since  I've  seen  a  man  from  God's 
country  that  I've  forgotten  how  to  do  the  polite. 
Here,  have  another  drink  and  start  even."  He 
was  so  eager  and  so  suddenly  humble  that  I  felt 
ashamed  of  my  display  of  offended  honor,  and 
we  began  again  with  a  better  understanding. 

I  told  him  once  more  why  I  had  come,  and 
this  time  he  accepted  my  story  as  though  he  con 
sidered  my  wishing  to  join  Laguerre  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world,  nodding  his  head  and 
muttering  approvingly.  When  I  had  finished  he 
said,  "  You  may  not  think  so  now,  but  I  guess 
you've  come  to  the  only  person  who  can  help 
you.  If  you'd  gone  to  anyone  else  you'd  proba 
bly  have  landed  in  jail."  He  glanced  over  hi? 
shoulder  at  the  open  door,  and  then,  after  i  myr 
terious  wink  at  me,  tiptoed  out  upon  the  ve*  Taa, 
and  ran  rapidly  around  and  through  the  hov^e. 
This  precaution  r,n  his  part  gave  me  a  thrill  of 
satisfaction.  I  felt  that  at  last  I  was  a  real  con 
spirator  that  I  was  concerned  in  something  dan 
gerous  and  weighty.  I  sipped  at  my  glass  with 


Captain  Macklin 

an  air  of  indifference,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  I 
was  rather  nervous. 

"  You  can't  be  too  careful,"  Aiken  said  as  he 
reseated  himself.  "  Of  course,  the  whole  thing  is 
a  comic  opera,  but  if  they  suspect  you  are  work 
ing  against  them,  they're  just  as  likely  as  not  to 
make  it  a  tragedy,  with  you  in  the  star  part. 
Now  I'll  explain  how  I  got  into  this,  and  I  can 
assure  you  it  wasn't  through  any  love  of  liberty 
with  me.  The  consular  agent  here  is  a  man 
named  Quay,  and  he  and  I  have  been  in  the  com 
mission  business  together.  About  three  months 
ago,  when  JLaguerre  was  organizing  his  com 
mand  at  Bluefields,  Garcia,  who  is  the  leader  of 
the  revolutionary  party,  sent  word  down  here  to 
Quay  to  go  North  for  him  and  buy  two  machine 
guns  and  invoice  'em  to  me  at  the  consulate. 
Quay  left  on  the  next  steamer  and  appointed  me 
acting  consul,  but  except  for  his  saying  so  I've 
no  more  real  authority  to  act  as  consul  than  you 
have.  The  plan  was  that  when  Laguerre  capt 
ured  this  port  he  would  pick  up  the  guns  and 
carry  them  on  to  Garcia.  Laguerre  was  at  Blue- 
fields,  but  couldn't  get  into  the  game  for  lack  of 
a  boat.  So  when  the  Nancy  Miller  touched  there 
he  and  his  crowd  boarded  her  just  like  a  lot  of 
old-fashioned  pirates  and  turned  the  passengers 
out  on  the  wharf.  Then  they  put  a  gun  at  the 


Captain  Macklin 

head  of  the  engineer  and  ordered  him  to  take 
them  back  to  Porto  Cortez.  But  when  they 
reached  here  the  guns  hadn't  arrived  from  New 
Orleans.  And  so,  after  a  bit  of  a  fight  on  land 
ing,  Laguerre  pushed  on  without  them  to  join 
Garcia.  He  left  instructions  with  me  to  bring 
him  word  when  they  arrived.  He's  in  hiding  up 
there  in  the  mountains,  waiting  to  hear  from  me 
now.  They  ought  to  have  come  this  steamer  day 
on  the  Panama  along  with  you,  but,  as  you  know,- 
they  didn't.  I  never  thought  they  would.  I  knew 
the  Isthmian  Line  people  wouldn't  carry  'em. 
They've  got  to  beat  Garcia,  and  until  this  row  is 
over  they  won't  even  carry  a  mail-bag  for  fear  he 
might  capture  it." 

"  Is  that  because  General  Laguerre  seized  one 
of  their  steamers  ?  *'  I  asked. 

"  No,  it's  an  old  fight,"  said  Aiken,  "  and  La- 
guerre's  stealing  the  Nancy  Miller  was  only  a 
part  of  it.  The  fight  began  between  Garcia  and 
the  Isthmian  Line  when  Garcia  became  president. 
He  tried  to  collect  some  money  from  the  Isth 
mian  Line,  and  old  man  Fiske  threw  him  out  of* 
the  palace  and  made  Alvarez  president." 

I  was  beginning  to  find  the  politics  of  the  rev 
olution  into  which  I  had  precipitated  myself  some 
what  involved,  and  I  suppose  I  looked  puzzled, 
for  Aiken  laughed. 

73 


Captain  Macklin 

"  You  can  laugh,"  I  said,  "  but  it  is  rather  con 
fusing.  Who  is  Fiske?  Is  he  another  revolu 
tionist?'* 

"  Fiske  ! "  exclaimed  Aiken.  "  Don't  tell  me 
you  don't  know  who  Fiske  is  ?  I  mean  old  man 
Fiske,  the  Wall  Street  banker — Joseph  Fiske, 
the  one  who  owns  the  steam  yacht  and  all  the 
railroads." 

I  had  of  course  heard  of  that  Joseph  Fiske, 
but  his  name  to  me  was  only  a  word  meaning 
money.  I  had  never  thought  of  Joseph  Fiske 
as  a  human  being.  At  school  and  at  the  Point 
when  we  wanted  to  give  the  idea  of  wealth  that 
could  not  be  counted  we  used  to  say,  "  As  rich  as 
Joe  Fiske."  But  I  answered,  in  a  tone  that  sug 
gested  that  I  knew  him  intimately : 

"  Oh,  that  Fiske,"  I  said.  "  But  what  has  he 
to  do  with  Honduras  ?  " 

"  He  owns  it,"  Aiken  answered.  "  It's  like 
this,"  he  began.  "  You  must  understand  that 
almost  every  republic  in  Central  America  is  under 
the  thumb  of  a  big  trading  firm  or  a  banking 
house  or  a  railroad.  For  instance,  all  these  revo 
lutions  you  read  about  in  the  papers — it's  seldom 
they  start  with  the  people.  The  puebleo  don't 
often  elect  a  president  or  turn  one  out.  That's 
generally  the  work  of  a  New  York  business  firm 
that  wants  a  concession.  If  the  president  in  office 

74 


Captain  Macklin 

t  give  it  a  concession  the  company  starts  out 
to  find  one  who  will.  It  hunts  up  a  rival  poli 
tician  or  a  general  of  the  army  who  wants  to  be 
president,  and  all  of  them  do,  and  makes  a  deai 
with  him.  It  promises  him  if  he'll  start  a  revo 
lution  it  will  back  him  with  the  money  and  the 
guns.  Of  course,  the  understanding  is  that  if  the 
leader  of  the  fake  revolution  gets  in  he'll  give  his 
New  York  backers  whatever  they're  after.  Some 
times  they  want  a  concession  for  a  railroad,  and 
sometimes  it's  a  nitrate  bed  or  a  rubber  forest, 
but  you  can  take  my  word  for  it  that  there's 
very  few  revolutions  down  here  that  haven't 
got  a  money-making  scheme  at  the  bottom  of 
them. 

"  Now  this  present  revolution  was  started 
by  the  Isthmian  Steamship  Line,  of  which  Joe 
Fiske  is  president.  It  runs  its  steamers  from 
New  Orleans  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  In  its 
original  charter  this  republic  gave  it  the  monopoly 
of  the  fruit-carrying  trade  from  all  Hondurian 
ports.  In  return  for  this  the  company  agreed  to 
pay  the  government  $10,000  a  year  and  ten  per 
cent,  on  its  annual  receipts,  if  the  receipts  ever 
exceeded  a  certain  amount.  Well,  curiously 
enough,  although  the  line  has  been  able  to  build 
seven  new  steamers,  its  receipts  ha^e  never  ex 
ceeded  that  fixed  amount.  And  if  you  know 

75 


Captain  Macklin 

these  people  the  reason  for  that  is  very  simple. 
The  company  has  always  given  each  succeeding 
president  a  lump  sum  for  himself,  on  the  con 
dition  that  he  won't  ask  any  impertinent  ques 
tions  about  the  company's  earnings.  Its  people 
tell  him  that  it  is  running  at  a  Joss,  and  he  always 
takes  their  word  for  it.  But  Garcia,  when  he 
came  in,  either  was  too  honest,  or  they  didn't 
pay  him  enough  to  keep  quiet.  I  don't  know 
which  it  was,  but,  anyway,  he  sent  an  agent  to 
New  Orleans  to  examine  the  company's  books. 
The  agent  discovered  the  earnings  have  been  so 
enormous  that  by  rights  the  Isthmian  Line  owed 
the  government  of  Honduras  $500,000.  This 
was  a  great  chance  for  Garcia,  and  he  told  them 
to  put  up  the  back  pay  or  lose  their  charter. 
They  refused  and  he  got  back  at  them  by  pre 
venting  their  ships  from  taking  on  any  cargo  in 
Honduras,  and  by  seizing  their  plant  here  and  at 
Truxillo.  Well,  the  company  didn't  dare  to  go 
to  law  about  it,  nor  appeal  to  the  State  Depart 
ment,  so  it  started  a  revolution.  It  picked  out  a 
thief  named  Alvarez  as  a  figure-head  and  helped 
him  to  bribe  the  army  and  capture  the  capital. 
Then  he  bought  a  decision  from  the  local  courts 
in  favor  of  the  company.  After  that  there  was 
no  more  talk  about  collecting  back  pay.  Garcia 
was  an  exile  in  Nicaragua.  There  he  met  La- 

76 


Captain  Macklin 

guerre,  who  is  a  professional  soldier  of  fortune, 
and  together  they  cooked  up  this  present  revolu 
tion.  They  hope  to  put  Garcia  back  into  power 
again.  How  he'll  act  if  he  gets  in  I  don't  know. 
The  common  people  believe  he's  a  patriot,  that 
he'll  keep  all  the  promises  he  makes  them — and 
he  makes  a  good  many — and  some  white  people 
believe  in  him,  too.  Laguerre  believes  in  him, 
for  instance.  Laguerre  told  me  that  Garcia  was 
a  second  Bolivar  and  Washington.  But  he  might 
be  both  of  them,  and  he  couldn't  beat  the  Isth 
mian  Line  You  see,  while  he  has  prevented  the 
Isthmian  Line  from  carrying  bananas,  he's  cut  off 
his  own  nose  by  shutting  off  his  only  source  of 
supply.  For  these  big  corporations  hang  together 
at  times,  and  on  the  Pacific  side  the  Pacific  Mail 
Company  has  got  the  word  from  Fiske,  and  they 
won't  carry  supplies,  either.  That's  what  I  meant 
by  saying  that  Joe  Fiske  owns  Honduras.  He's 
cut  it  off  from  the  world,  and  only  his  arms  and  his 
friends  can  get  into  it.  And  the  joke  of  it  is  he 
can't  get  out." 

"Can't  get  out?"  I  exclaimed.  "What  do 
you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  he's  up  there  at  Tegucigalpa  himself," 
said  Aiken.  "  Didn't  you  know  that?  He's  up 
at  the  capital,  visiting  Alvarez.  He  came  in 
through  this  port  about  two  weeks  ago." 

77 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Joseph  Fiske  is  fighting  in  a  Hondurian  revo 
lution  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Certainly  not ! "  cried  Aiken.  "  He's  here 
on  a  pleasure  trip  ;  partly  pleasure,  partly  business. 
He  came  here  on  his  yacht.  You  can  see  her 
from  the  window,  lying  to  the  left  of  the  buoy. 
Fiske  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  row.  I  don't 
suppose  he  knows  there's  a  revolution  going  on." 

I  resented  this  pretended  lack  of  interest  on 
the  part  of  the  Wall  Street  banker.  I  condemned 
it  as  a  piece  of  absurd  affectation. 

tf  Don't  you  believe  it !  "  I  said.  "  No  matter 
how  many  millions  a  man  has,  he  doesn't  stand  to 
lose  ^500,000  without  taking  an  interest  in  it." 

"  Oh,  but  he  doesn't  know  about  that"  said 
Aiken.  "  He  doesn't  know  the  ins  and  outs  of 
the  story — what  I've  been  telling  you.  That's 
on  the  inside — that's  cafe  scandal.  That  side  of 
it  would  never  reach  him.  I  suppose  Joe  Fiske 
is  president  of  a  dozen  steamship  lines,  and  all  he 
does  is  to  lend  his  name  to  this  one,  and  preside 
at  board  meetings.  The  company's  lawyers  tell 
him  whatever  they  think  he  ought  to  know. 
They  probably  say  they're  having  trouble  down 
here  owing  to  one  of  the  local  revolutions,  and 
that  Garcia  is  trying  to  blackmail  them." 

"  Then  you  don't  think  Fiske  came  down  here 
about  this  ?  "  I  asked. 

78 


Captain  Macklin 

"  About  this  ? "  repeated  Aiken,  in  a  tone  of 
such  contempt  that  I  disliked  him  intensely. 
For  the  last  half  hour  Aiken  had  been  jumping 
unfeelingly  on  all  my  ideals  and  illusions. 

"  No,"  he  went  on.  "  He  came  here  on  his 
yacht  on  a  pleasure  trip  around  the  West  India 
Islands,  and  he  rode  in  from  here  to  look  over 
the  Copan  Silver  Mines.  Alvarez  is  terribly  keen 
to  get  rid  of  him.  He's  afraid  the  revolutionists 
will  catch  him  and  hold  him  for  ransom.  He'd 
bring  a  good  price,"  Aiken  added,  reflectively. 
"  It's  enough  to  make  a  man  turn  brigand.  And 
his  daughter,  too.  She'd  bring  a  good  price." 

"  His  daughter  !  "  I  exclaimed. 

Aiken  squeezed  the  tips  of  his  fingers  together, 
and  kissed  them,  tossing  the  imaginary  kiss  up 
toward  the  roof.  Then  he  drank  what  was  left  of 
his  rum  and  water  at  a  gulp  and  lifted  the  empty 
glass  high  in  the  air.  "  To  the  daughter,"  he  said. 

It  was  no  concern  of  mine,  but  I  resented  his 
actions  exceedingly.  I  think  I  was  annoyed 
that  he  should  have  seen  the  young  lady  while  I 
had  not.  I  also  resented  his  toasting  her  before 
a  stranger.  I  knew  he  could  not  have  met  her, 
and  his  pretence  of  enthusiasm  made  him  appear 
quite  ridiculous.  He  looked  at  me  mournfully, 
shaking  his  head  as  though  it  were  impossible  for 
him  to  give  me  an  idea  of  her. 

79 


Captain  Macklin 

cc  Why  they  say/*  he  exclaimed,  <c  that  when 
she  rides  along  the  trail,  the  native  women  kneel 
beside  it. 

"  She's  the  best  looking  girl  I  ever  saw,"  he 
declared,  "  and  she's  a  thoroughbred  too  !  "  he 
added,  "  or  she  wouldn't  have  stuck  it  out  in  this 
country  when  she  had  a  clean  yacht  to  fall  back 
on.  She's  been  riding  around  on  a  mule,  so  they 
tell  me,  along  with  her  father  and  the  engineering 
experts,  and  just  as  though  she  enjoyed  it.  The 
men  up  at  the  mines  say  she  tired  them  all  out." 

I  had  no  desire  to  discuss  the  young  lady  with 
Aiken,  so  I  pretended  not  to  be  interested,  and 
he  ceased  speaking,  and  we  smoked  in  silence. 
But  my  mind  was  nevertheless  wide  awake  to 
what  he  had  told  me.  I  could  not  help  but  see 
the  dramatic  values  which  had  been  given  to  the 
situation  by  the  presence  of  this  young  lady.  The 
possibilities  were  tremendous.  Here  was  I,  fight 
ing  against  her  father,  and  here  was  she,  beautiful 
and  an  heiress  to  many  millions.  In  the  short 
space  of  a  few  seconds  I  had  pictured  myself  res 
cuing  her  from  brigands,  denouncing  her  father 
for  not  paying  his  honest  debt  to  Honduras, 
had  been  shot  down  by  his  escort,  Miss  Fiske 
had  bandaged  my  wounds,  and  I  was  returning 
North  as  her  prospective  husband  on  my  pro 
spective  father-in-law's  yacht.  Aiken  aroused 

80 


Captain  Macklin 

me  from  this  by  rising  to  his  feet.  "  Now  then,59 
he  said,  briskly,  "  if  you  want  to  go  to  Laguerre 
you  can  come  with  me.  I've  got  to  see  him  to 
explain  why  his  guns  haven't  arrived,  and  I'll 
take  you  with  me."  He  made  a  wry  face  and 
laughed.  <c  A  nice  welcome  he'll  give  me,"  he 
said.  I  jumped  to  my  feet.  "  There's  my 
trunk,"  I  said;  "it's  ready,  and  so  am  I.  When 
do  we  start  ?  " 

"As  soon  as  it  is  moonlight,"  Aiken  an 
swered. 

The  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  in  prepar 
ing  for  our  journey.  I  was  first  taken  to  the  com- 
mandante  and  presented  to  him  as  a  commercial 
traveller.  Aiken  asked  him  for  a  passport  per 
mitting  me  to  proceed  to  the  capital  "  for  pur 
poses  of  trade.'*  As  consular  agent  Aiken  needed 
no  passport  for  himself,  but  to  avoid  suspicion 
he  informed  the  commandante  that  his  object  in 
visiting  Tegucigalpa  was  to  persuade  Joseph 
Fiske,  as  president  of  the  Isthmian  Line,  to  place 
buoys  in  the  harbor  of  Porto  Cortez  and  give 
the  commission  for  their  purchase  to  the  com 
mandante.  Aiken  then  and  always  was  the  most 
graceful  liar  I  have  ever  met.  His  fictions  were 
never  for  his  own  advantage,  at  least  not  obvi 
ously  so.  Instead,  they  always  held  out  some 
pleasing  hope  for  the  person  to  whom  they  were 

81 


Captain  Macklin 

addressed.  His  plans  and  promises  as  to  what  he 
would  do  were  so  alluring  that  even  when  I  knew 
he  was  lying  I  liked  to  pretend  that  he  was  not 
This  particular  fiction  so  interested  the  comman- 
dante  that  he  even  offered  us  an  escort  of  sol 
diers,  which  honor  we  naturally  declined. 

That  night  when  the  moon  had  risen  we 
started  inland,  each  mounted  on  a  stout  little 
mule,  and  followed  by  a  third,  on  which  was 
swung  my  trunk,  balanced  on  the  other  side  by 
Aiken*s  saddle  bags.  A  Carib  Indian  whom 
Aiken  had  selected  because  of  his  sympathies  for 
the  revolution  walked  beside  the  third  mule 
and  directed  its  progress  by  the  most  startling 
shrieks  and  howls.  To  me  it  was  a  most  mem 
orable  and  marvellous  night,  and  although  for 
the  greater  part  of  it  Aiken  dozed  in  his  saddle 
and  woke  only  to  abuse  his  mule,  I  was  never 
more  wakeful  nor  more  happy.  At  the  very  set 
ting  forth  I  was  pleasantly  stirred  when  at  the 
limit  of  the  town  a  squad  of  soldiers  halted  us 
and  demanded  our  passports.  This  was  my  first 
encounter  with  the  government  troops.  They 
were  barefooted  and  most  slovenly  looking  sol 
diers,  mere  boys  in  age  and  armed  with  old- 
fashioned  Remingtons.  But  their  officer,  the 
captain  of  the  guard,  was  more  smartly  dressed, 
and  I  was  delighted  to  find  that  my  knowledge 

82 


Captain  Macklin 

of  Spanish,  in  which  my  grandfather  had  so  per« 
sistently  drilled  me,  enabled  me  to  understand 
all  that  passed  between  him  and  Aiken.  The 
captain  warned  us  that  the  revolutionists  were 
camped  along  the  trail,  and  that  if  challenged  we 
had  best  answer  quickly  that  we  were  Americanos. 
He  also  told  us  that  General  Laguerre  and  his 
legion  of  "  gringoes  "  were  in  hiding  in  the  high 
lands  some  two  days'  ride  from  the  coast.  Aiken 
expressed  the  greatest  concern  at  this,  and  was 
for  at  once  turning  back.  His  agitation  was  so 
convincing,  he  was  apparently  so  frightened,  that, 
until  he  threw  a  quick  wink  at  me,  I  confess  J 
was  completely  taken  in.  For  some  time  he  re 
fused  to  be  calmed,  and  it  was  only  when  the 
captain  assured  him  that  his  official  position 
would  protect  him  from  any  personal  danger  that 
he  consented  to  ride  on.  Before  we  crossed  the 
town  limits  he  had  made  it  quite  evident  that  the 
officer  himself  was  solely  responsible  for  his  con 
tinuing  on  his  journey,  and  he  denounced  La 
guerre  and  all  his  works  with  a  picturesqueness 
of  language  and  a  sincerity  that  filled  me  with 
confusion.  I  even  began  to  doubt  if  after  all 
Aiken  was  not  playing  a  game  for  both  sides, 
and  might  not  end  my  career  by  leading  me  into 
a  trap.  After  we  rode  on  I  considered  the  possi 
bility  of  this  quite  seriously,  and  I  was  not  reas- 

83  ' 


Captain  Macklin 

sured  until  1  heard  the  mozo,  with  many  chuckles 
and  shrugs  of  the  shoulder,  congratulate  Aiken  on 
the  way  he  had  made  a  fool  of  the  captain. 

"  That's  called  diplomacy,  Jose,"  Aiken  told 
him.  "  That's  my  statecraft.  It's  because  I 
have  so  much  statecraft  that  1  am  a  consul.  You 
keep  your  eye  on  this  American  consul,  Jose,  and 
you'll  learn  a  lot  of  statecraft." 

Jose  showed  his  teeth  and  grinned,  and  after 
he  had  dropped  into  a  line  behind  us  we  could 
hear  him  still  chuckling. 

"  You  would  be  a  great  success  in  secret  service 
work,  Aiken,"  I  said,  "  or  on  the  stage." 

We  were  riding  in  single  file,  and  in  order  to 
see  my  face  in  the  moonlight  he  had  to  turn  in 
his  saddle. 

"  And  yet  I  didn't,"  he  laughed. 

"  What  do  you  mean,*'  I  asked,  "  were  you 
ever  a  spy  or  an  actor  ?  " 

"  I  was  both,"  he  said.  "  I  was  a  failure  at 
both,  too.  I  got  put  in  jail  for  being  a  spy,  and 
I  ought  to  have  been  hung  for  my  acting."  I 
kicked  my  mule  forward  in  order  to  hear  better. 

"  Tell  me  about  it,"  I  asked,  eagerly.  "About 
when  you  were  a  spy." 

But  Aiken  only  laughed,  and  rode  on  without 
turning  his  head. 

"You  wouldn't  understand,"  he  said  after  a 
84 


Captain  Macklin 

pause.  Then  he  looked  at  me  over  his  shoulder. 
"It  needs  a  big  black  background  of  experience 
and  hard  luck  to  get  the  perspective  on  that  story," 
he  explained.  "It  wouldn't  appeal  to  you  ;  you're 
too  young.  They're  some  things  they  don't  teach 
at  West  Point." 

"  They  teach  us,"  I  answered,  hotly,  "  that  if 
we're  detailed  to  secret  service  work  we  are  to  carry 
out  our  orders.  It's  not  dishonorable  to  obey 
orders.  I'm  not  so  young  as  you  think.  Go  on, 
tell  me,  in  what  war  were  you  a  spy  ?  " 

"It  wasn't  in  any  war,"  Aiken  said,  again  turn 
ing  away  from  me.  "It  was  in  Haskell's  Private 
Detective  Agency." 

I  could  not  prevent  an  exclamation,  but  the 
instant  it  had  escaped  me  I  could  have  kicked  my 
self  for  having  made  it.  "I  beg  your  pardon," 
I  murmured,  awkwardly. 

"  I  said  you  wouldn't  understand,"  Aiken 
answered.  Then,  to  show  he  did  not  wish  to 
speak  with  me  further,  he  spurred  his  mule  into  a 
trot  and  kept  a  distance  between  us. 

Our  trail  ran  over  soft,  spongy  ground  and  was 
shut  in  on  either  hand  by  a  wet  jungle  of  tangled 
vines  and  creepers.  They  interlaced  like  the 
strands  of  a  hammock,  choking  and  strangling  and 
clinging  to  each  other  in  a  great  web.  From  the 
jungle  we  came  to  ill-smelling  pools  of  mud  and 

85 


Captain  Macklin 

water,  over  which  hung  a  white  mist  which  rose 
as  high  as  our  heads.  It  was  so  heavy  with  moist 
ure  that  our  clothing  dripped  with  it,  and  we  were 
chilled  until  our  teeth  chattered.  But  by  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  we  had  escaped  the  coast 
swamps,  and  reached  higher  ground  and  the  vil 
lage  of  Sagua  la  Grande,  and  the  sun  was  drying 
our  clothes  and  taking  the  stiffness  out  of  our 
bones. 

CANAL  COMPANY'S  FEVER  HOSPITAL, 
PANAMA 

The  nurse  brought  me  my  diary  this  morning. 
She  found  it  in  the  inside  pocket  of  my  tunic. 
All  of  its  back  pages  were  scribbled  over  with 
orders  of  the  day,  countersigns,  and  the  memo 
randa  I  made  after  Laguerre  appointed  me  ad 
jutant  to  the  Legion.  But  in  the  first  half  of  it 
was  what  I  see  I  was  pleased  to  call  my  "memoirs, ' 
in  which  I  had  written  the  last  chapter  the  day 
Aiken  and  I  halted  at  Sagua  la  Grande.  Whei. 
I  read  it  over  I  felt  that  I  was  somehow  much 
older  than  when  I  made  that  last  entry.  And  yet 
it  was  only  two  months  ago.  It  seems  like  two 
years.  I  don't  feel  much  like  writing  about  it, 
nor  thinking  about  it,  but  I  suppose,  if  I  mean 
to  keep  my  "  memoirs  "  up  to  date,  I  shall  never 
have  more  leisure  in  which  to  write  than  I  have 

86 


Captain  Macklin 

now.  For  Dr.  Ezequiel  says  it  will  be  another 
two  weeks  before  I  can  leave  this  cot.  Sagua 
seems  very  unimportant  now.  But  I  must  not 
write  of  it  as  I  see  it  now,  from  this  distance,  but 
as  it  appealed  to  me  then,  when  everything  about 
me  was  new  and  strange  and  wonderful. 

It  was  my  first  sight  of  a  Honduranian  town, 
and  I  thought  it  most  charming  and  curious.  As 
I  learned  later  it  was  like  any  other  Honduranian 
town  and  indeed  like  every  other  town  in  Central 
America.  They  are  all  built  around  a  plaza,  which 
sometimes  is  a  park  with  fountains  and  tessellated 
marble  pavements  and  electric  lights,  and  some 
times  only  an  open  place  of  dusty  grass.  There 
is  always  a  church  at  one  end,  and  the  cafe  or  club, 
and  the  alcalde's  house,  or  the  governor's  palace, 
at  another.  In  the  richer  plazas  there  must  al 
ways  be  the  statue  of  some  Liberator,  and  in  the 
poorer  a  great  wooden  cross.  Sagua  la  Grande 
was  bright  and  warm  and  foreign  looking.  It  re 
minded  me  of  the  colored  prints  of  Mexico  which 
I  had  seen  in  my  grandfather's  library.  The 
houses  were  thatched  clay  huts  with  gardens 
around  them  crowded  with  banana  palms,  and  trees 
hung  with  long  beans,  which  broke  into  masses  of 
crimson  flowers.  The  church  opposite  the  inn 
was  old  and  yellow,  and  at  the  edge  of  the  plaza 
were  great  palms  that  rustled  and  courtesied. 

87 


Captain  Macklin 

led  our  mules  straight  through  the  one  big  room 
of  the  inn  out  into  the  yard  behind  it,  and  while 
doing  it  I  committed  the  grave  discourtesy  of  not 
first  removing  my  spurs.  Aiken  told  me  about 
it  at  once,  and  I  apologized  to  everyone — to  the 
alcalde,  and  the  priest,  and  the  village  school 
master  who  had  crossed  the  plaza  to  welcome  us 
• — and  I  asked  them  all  to  drink  with  me.  I  do 
not  know  that  I  ever  enjoyed  a  breakfast  more 
than  I  did  the  one  we  ate  in  the  big  cool  inn  with 
the  striped  awning  outside,  and  the  naked  brown 
children  watching  us  from  the  street,  and  the  palms 
whispering  overhead.  The  breakfast  was  good  in 
itself,  but  it  was  my  surroundings  which  made  the 
meal  so  remarkable  and  the  fact  that  I  was  no 
longer  at  home  and  responsible  to  someone,  but 
that  I  was  talking  as  one  man  to  another,  and  in 
a  foreign  language  to  people  who  knew  no  other 
tongue.  The  inn-keeper  was  a  fat  little  person  in 
white  drill  and  a  red  sash,  in  which  he  carried  two 
silver-mounted  pistols.  He  looked  like  a  ring 
master  in  a  circus,  but  he  cooked  us  a  most  won 
derful  omelette  with  tomatoes  and  onions  and 
olives  chopped  up  in  it  with  oil.  And  an  Indian 
woman  made  us  tortillas,  which  are  like  our  buck 
wheat  cakes.  It  was  fascinating  to  see  her  toss 
them  up  in  the  air,  and  slap  them  into  shape  with 
her  hands.  Outside  the  sun  blazed  upon  the 

88 


Captain  Macklin 

white  rim  of  huts,  and  the  great  wooden  cross  in 
the  plaza  threw  its  shadow  upon  the  yellow  fa9ade 
of  the  church.  Beside  the  church  there  was  a 
chime  of  four  bells  swinging  from  a  low  ridge-pole. 
The  dews  and  the  sun  had  turned  their  copper  a 
brilliant  green,  but  had  not  hurt  their  music,  and 
while  we  sat  at  breakfast  a  little  Indian  boy  in 
crumpled  vestments  beat  upon  them  with  a  stick, 
making  a  sweet  and  swinging  melody.  It  did  not 
seem  to  me  a  scene  set  for  revolution,  but  I  liked 
it  all  so  much  that  that  one  breakfast  alone  repaid 
me  for  my  long  journey  south.  I  was  sure  life  in 
Sagua  la  Grande  would  always  suit  me,  and  that 
I  would  never  ask  for  better  company  than  the 
comic-opera  landlord  and  the  jolly  young  priest 
and  the  yellow-skinned,  fever-ridden  schoolmaster 
with  his  throat  wrapped  in  a  great  woollen  shawl. 
But  very  soon,  what  with  having  had  no  sleep  the 
night  before  and  the  heat,  I  grew  terribly  drowsy 
and  turned  in  on  a  canvas  cot  in  the  corner,  where 
I  slept  until  long  after  mid-day.  For  some  time 
I  could  hear  Aiken  and  the  others  conversing  to 
gether  and  caught  the  names  of  Laguerre  and 
Garcia,  but  I  was  too  sleepy  to  try  to  listen,  and, 
as  I  said,  Sagua  did  not  seem  to  me  to  be  the 
place  for  conspiracies  and  revolutions.  I  left  it 
with  real  regret,  and  as  though  I  were  parting  with 
friends  of  long  acquaintanceship. 

89 


Captain  Macklin 

From  the  time  we  left  Sagua  the  path  began  to 
ascend,  and  we  rode  in  single  file  along  the  edges 
of  deep  precipices.  From  the  depths  below 
giant  ferns  sent  up  cool,  damp  odors,  and  we 
could  hear  the  splash  and  ripple  of  running  water, 
and  at  times,  by  looking  into  the  valley,  I  could 
see  waterfalls  and  broad  streams  filled  with  rocks, 
which  churned  the  water  into  a  white  foam.  We 
passed  under  tall  trees  covered  with  white  and 
purple  flowers,  and  in  the  branches  of  others  were 
perched  macaws,  giant  parrots  of  the  most  won 
derful  red  and  blue  and  yellow,  and  just  at  sunset 
we  startled  hundreds  of  parroquets  which  flew 
screaming  and  chattering  about  our  heads,  like  so 
many  balls  of  colored  worsted. 

When  the  moon  rose,  we  rode  out  upon  a 
table-land  and  passed  between  thick  forests  of 
enormous  trees,  the  like  of  which  I  had  never 
imagined.  Their  branches  began  at  a  great  dis 
tance  from  the  ground  and  were  covered  thick 
with  orchids,  which  I  mistook  for  large  birds 
roosting  for  the  night.  Each  tree  was  bound  to 
the  next  by  vines  like  tangled  ropes,  some  drawn 
as  taut  as  the  halyards  of  a  ship,  and  others,  as 
thick  as  one's  leg ;  they  were  twisted  and  wrapped 
around  the  branches,  so  that  they  looked  like 
boa-constrictors  hanging  ready  to  drop  upon  one's 
shoulders.  The  moonlight  gave  to  this  forest  of 

90 


*o 

1 

•8 

O 

co 

I 

cr/ 

c 


Captain   Mackiin 

great  trees  a  weird,  fantastic  look.  I  felt  like  a 
knight  entering  an  enchanted  wood.  But  noth 
ing  disturbed  our  silence  except  the  sudden  awa 
kening  of  a  great  bird  or  the  stealthy  rustle  of  an 
animal  in  the  underbrush.  Near  midnight  we 
rode  into  a  grove  of  manacca  palms  as  delicate  as 
ferns,  and  each  as  high  as  a  three-story  house, 
and  with  fronds  so  long  that  those  drooping  across 
the  trail  hid  it  completely.  To  push  our  way 
through  these  we  had  to  use  both  arms  as  one 
lifts  the  curtains  in  a  doorway. 

Aiken  himself  seemed  to  feel  the  awe  and 
beauty  of  the  place,  and  called  the  direction  to 
me  in  a  whisper.  Even  that  murmur  was  enough 
to  carry  above  the  rustling  of  the  palms,  and 
startled  hundreds  of  monkeys  into  wakefulness. 
We  could  hear  their  barks  and  cries  echoing  from 
every  part  of  the  forest,  and  as  they  sprang  from 
one  branch  to  another  the  palms  bent  like  trout- 
rods,  and  then  swept  back  into  place  again  with 
a  strange  swishing  sound,  like  the  rush  of  a  great 
fish  through  water. 

After  midnight  we  were  too  stiff  and  sore  to 
ride  farther,  and  we  bivouacked  on  the  trail  be 
side  a  stream.  I  had  no  desire  for  further  sleep, 
and  I  sat  at  the  foot  of  a  tree  smoking  and  think 
ing.  I  had  often  "  camped  out  "  as  a  boy,  and 
at  West  Point  with  the  battalion,  but  I  had  never 


Captain  Macklin 

before  felt  so  far  away  from  civilization  and  my 
own  people.  For  company  I  made  a  little  fire 
and  sat  before  it,  going  over  in  my  mind  what  I 
had  learned  since  I  had  set  forth  on  my  travels. 
I  concluded  that  so  far  I  had  gained  much  and 
lost  much.  What  I  had  experienced  of  the  ocean 
while  on  the  ship  and  what  little  I  had  seen  of 
this  country  delighted  me  entirely,  and  I  would 
not  have  parted  with  a  single  one  of  my  new  im 
pressions.  But  all  I  had  learned  of  the  cause  for 
which  I  had  come  to  fight  disappointed  and  dis 
heartened  me.  Of  course  I  had  left  home  partly 
to  seek  adventure,  but  not  only  for  that,  I  had 
set  out  on  this  expedition  with  the  idea  that  I 
was  serving  some  good  cause — that  old-fashioned 
principles  were  forcing  these  men  to  fight  for  their 
independence.  But  I  had  been  early  undeceived. 
At  the  same  time  that  I  was  enjoying  my  first 
sight  of  new  and  beautiful  things  I  was  being 
robbed  of  my  illusions  and  my  ideals.  And 
nothing  could  make  up  to  me  for  that.  By 
merely  travelling  on  around  the  globe  I  would 
always  be  sure  to  find  some  new  things  of  interest. 
But  what  would  that  count  if  I  lost  my  faith  in 
men  !  If  I  ceased  to  believe  in  their  unselfish 
ness  and  honesty.  Even  though  I  were  young 
and  credulous,  and  lived  in  a  make-believe  world 
of  my  own  imagining,  I  was  happier  so  than  in 

92 


Captain  Macklin 

thinking  that  everyone  worked  for  his  own  ad 
vantage,  and  without  justice  to  others,  or  private 
honor.  It  harmed  no  one  that  I  believed  better 
of  others  than  they  deserved,  but  it  was  going  to 
hurt  me  terribly  if  I  learned  that  their  aims  were 
even  lower  than  my  own.  I  knew  it  was  Aiken 
who  had  so  discouraged  me.  It  was  he  who  had 
laughed  at  me  for  believing  that  Laguerre  and 
his  men  were  fighting  for  liberty.  If  I  were 
going  to  credit  him,  there  was  not  one  honest 
man  in  Honduras,  and  no  one  on  either  side  of 
this  revolution  was  fighting  for  anything  but 
money.  He  had  made  it  all  seem  commercial, 
sordid,  and  underhand.  I  blamed  him  for  hav 
ing  so  shaken  my  faith  and  poisoned  my  mind. 
I  scowled  at  his  unconscious  figure  as  he  lay  sleep 
ing  peacefully  on  his  blanket,  and  I  wished  heartily 
that  I  had  never  set  eyes  on  him.  Then  I  argued 
that  his  word,  after  all,  was  not  final.  He  made 
no  pretence  of  being  a  saint,  and  it  was  not  un 
natural  that  a  man  who  held  no  high  motives 
should  fail  to  credit  them  to  others.  I  had  par 
tially  consoled  myself  with  this  reflection,  when  I 
remembered  suddenly  that  Beatrice  herself  had 
foretold  the  exact  condition  which  Aiken  had  de 
scribed. 

"  That  is  not  war,"  she  had  said  to  me,  <f  that 
is  speculation  !  "     She  surely  had  said  that  to  me, 

93 


Captain  Macklin 

but  how  could  she  have  known,  or  was  hers  only 
a  random  guess  ?  And  if  she  had  guessed  cor 
rectly  what  would  she  wish  me  to  do  now  ?  Would 
she  wish  me  to  turn  back,  or,  if  my  own  motives 
were  good,  would  she  tell  me  to  go  on  ?  She 
had  called  me  her  knight-errant,  and  I  owed  it  to 
her  to  do  nothing  of  which  she  would  disapprove. 
As  I  thought  of  her  I  felt  a  great  loneliness  and 
a  longing  to  see  her  once  again.  I  thought  of 
how  greatly  she  would  have  delighted  in  those 
days  at  sea,  and  how  wonderful  it  would  have 
been  if  I  could  have  seen  this  hot,  feverish  coun 
try  with  her  at  my  side.  I  pictured  her  at  the 
inn  at  Sagua  smiling  on  the  priest  and  the  fat  little 
landlord ;  and  their  admiration  of  her.  I  imag 
ined  us  riding  together  in  the  brilliant  sunshine 
with  the  crimson  flowers  meeting  overhead,  and 
the  palms  bowing  to  her  and  paying  her  homage. 
I  lifted  the  locket  she  had  wound  around  my  wrist, 
and  kissed  it.  As  I  did  so,  my  doubts  and  ques 
tionings  seemed  to  fall  away.  I  stood  up  con 
fident  and  determined.  It  was  not  my  business 
to  worry  over  the  motives  of  other  men,  but  to 
look  to  my  own.  I  would  go  ahead  and  fight 
Alvarez,  who  Aiken  himself  declared  was  a  thief 
and  a  tyrant.  If  anyone  asked  me  my  politics  I 
would  tell  him  I  was  for  the  side  that  would  ob- 
tain  the  money  the  Isthmian  Line  had  stolen, 


Captain  Macklin 

give  it  to  the  people ;  that  I  was  for  Garcia  and 
Liberty,  Laguerre  and  the  Foreign  Legion. 
This  platform  of  principles  seemed  to  me  so  satis 
factory  that  I  stretched  my  feet  to  the  fire  and 
went  to  sleep. 

I  was  awakened  by  the  most  delicious  odor  of 
coffee,  and  when  I  rolled  out  of  my  blanket  I 
found  Jose  standing  over  me  with  a  cup  of  it  in 
his  hand,  and  Aiken  buckling  the  straps  of  my 
saddle-girth.  We  took  a  plunge  in  the  stream, 
and  after  a  breakfast  of  coffee  and  cold  tortillas 
climbed  into  the  saddle  and  again  picked  up  the 
trail. 

After  riding  for  an  hour  Aiken  warned  me  that 
at  any  moment  we  were  likely  to  come  upon 
either  Laguerre  or  the  soldiers  of  Alvarez.  "  So 
you  keep  your  eyes  and  ears  open,"  he  said,  "  and 
when  they  challenge  throw  up  your  hands  quick. 
The  challenge  is  '  Halt,  who  lives,'  "  he  explained. 
"  If  it  is  a  government  soldier  you  must  answer, 
'  The  government.'  But  if  it's  one  of  Laguerre's 
or  Garcia's  pickets  you  must  say  {  The  revolution 
lives.'  And  whatever  else  you  do,  hold  up  your 
hands" 

I  rehearsed  this  at  once,  challenging  myself 
several  times,  and  giving  the  appropriate  answers. 
The  performance  seemed  to  afford  Aiken  much 
amusement. 

95 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Isn't  that  right  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  but  the  joke  is  that  you 
won't  be  able  to  tell  which  is  the  government 
soldier  and  which  is  the  revolutionist,  and  you'll 
give  the  wrong  answer,  and  we'll  both  get  shot." 

"  I  can  tell  by  our  uniform,"  I  answered. 

"  Uniform  !  "  exclaimed  Aiken,  and  burst  into 
the  most  uproarious  laughter.  "  Rags  and  tat 
ters,"  he  said. 

I  was  considerably  annoyed  to  learn  by  this 
that  the  revolutionary  party  had  no  distinctive 
uniform.  The  one  worn  by  the  government 
troops  which  I  had  seen  at  the  coast  I  had 
thought  bad  enough,  but  it  was  a  great  disap 
pointment  to  hear  that  we  had  none  at  all. 
Ever  since  I  had  started  from  Dobbs  Ferry  I 
had  been  wondering  what  was  the  Honduranian 
uniform.  I  had  promised  myself  to  have  my  pho 
tograph  taken  in  it.  I  had  anticipated  the  pride 
I  should  have  in  sending  the  picture  back  to 
Beatrice.  So  I  was  considerably  chagrined,  until 
I  decided  to  invent  a  uniform  of  my  own,  which 
I  would  wear  whether  anyone  else  wore  it  or  not. 
This  was  even  better  than  having  to  accept  one 
which  someone  else  had  selected.  As  I  had 
thought  much  on  the  subject  of  uniforms,  I  be 
gan  at  once  to  design  a  becoming  one. 

We  had  reached  a  most  difficult  pass  in  the 
96 


Captain  Macklin 

mountain,  where  the  trail  stumbled  over  broken 
masses  of  rock  and  through  a  thick  tangle  of 
laurel.  The  walls  of  the  pass  were  high  and  the 
trees  at  the  top  shut  out  the  sunlight.  It  was 
damp  and  cold  and  dark. 

"  We're  sure  to  strike  something  here,"  Aiken 
whispered  over  his  shoulder.  It  did  not  seem  at 
all  unlikely.  The  place  was  the  most  excellent 
man-trap,  but  as  to  that,  the  whole  length  of  the 
trail  had  lain  through  what  nature  had  obviously 
arranged  for  a  succession  of  ambushes. 

Aiken  turned  in  his  saddle  and  said,  in  an 
anxious  tone :  "  Do  you  know,  the  nearer  I  get 
to  the  old  man,  the  more  I  think  I  was  a  fool  to 
come.  As  long  as  I've  got  nothing  but  bad 
news,  I'd  better  have  stayed  away.  Do  you  re 
member  Pharaoh  and  the  messengers  of  ill  tid 
ings  ? " 

I  nodded,  but  I  kept  my  eyes  busy  with  the 
rocks  and  motionless  laurel.  My  mule  was  slip 
ping  and  kicking  down  pebbles,  and  making  as 
much  noise  as  a  gun  battery.  I  knew,  if  there 
were  any  pickets  about,  they  could  hear  us  com 
ing  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

"  Garcia  may  think  he's  Pharaoh,"  Aiken  went 
on,  "  and  take  it  into  his  head  it's  my  fault  the 
guns  didn't  come.  Laguerre  may  say  I  sold 
the  secret  to  the  Isthmian  Line." 

97 


Captain  Macklin 

"Oh,  he  couldn't  think  you'd  do  that!"  I 
protested. 

"  Well,  I've  known  it  done,"  Aiken  said. 
"  Quay  certainly  sold  us  out  at  New  Orleans. 
And  Laguerre  may  think  I  went  shares  with 
him." 

I  began  to  wonder  if  Aiken  was  not  probably 
the  very  worst  person  I  could  have  selected  to 
introduce  me  to  General  Laguerre.  It  seemed 
as  though  it  certainly  would  have  been  better  had 
I  found  my  way  to  him  alone.  I  grew  so  uneasy 
concerning  my  possible  reception  that  I  said,  ir 
ritably  :  "  Doesn't  the  General  know  you  well 
enough  to  trust  you  ?  " 

"  No,  he  doesn't  !  "  Aiken  snapped  back,  quite 
as  irritably.  "And  he's  dead  right,  too.  You 
take  it  from  me,  that  the  fewer  people  in  this 
country  you  trust,  the  better  for  you.  Why,  the 
rottenness  of  this  country  is  a  proverb.  '  It's  a 
place  where  the  birds  have  no  song,  where  the 
flowers  have  no  odor,  where  the  women  are  with 
out  virtue,  and  the  men  without  honor.'  That's 
what  a  gringo  said  of  Honduras  many  years  ago, 
and  he  knew  the  country  and  the  people  in  it." 

It  was  not  a  comforting  picture,  but  in  my 
discouragement  I  remembered  Laguerre. 

"  General  Laguerre  does  not  belong  to  this 
country,"  I  said,  hopefully. 

98 


Captain  Macklin 


"  No,"'  Aiken  answered,  with  a  laugh.  "  He's 
an  Irish-Frenchman  and  belongs  to  a  dozen 
countries.  He's  fought  for  every  flag  that  floats, 
and  he's  no  better  off  to-day  than  when  he  be 
gan." 

He  turned  toward  me  and  stared  with  an 
amused  and  tolerant  grin.  "  He's  a  bit  like 
you,"  he  said. 

I  saw  he  did  not  consider  what  he  said  as  a 
compliment,  but  I  was  vain  enough  to  want  to 
know  what  he  did  think  of  me,  so  I  asked : 
"  And  in  what  way  am  I  like  General  La- 
guerre  ?  " 

The  idea  of  our  similarity  seemed  to  amuse 
Aiken,  for  he  continued  to  grin. 

"  Oh,  you'll  see  when  we  meet  him,"  he  said. 
"  I  can't  explain  it.  You  two  are  just  different 
from  other  people — that's  all.  He's  old-fash 
ioned  like  you,  if  you  know  what  I  mean,  and 
young " 

"  Why,  he's  an  old  man,"  I  corrected. 

"  He's  old  enough  to  be  your  grandfather," 
Aiken  laughed,  "  but  I  say  he's  young — like 
you,  the  way  you  are." 

Aiken  knew  that  it  annoyed  me  when  he  pre 
tended  I  was  so  much  younger  than  himself,  and 
I  had  started  on  some  angry  reply,  when  I  was 
abruptly  interrupted. 

99 


Captain  Macklin 


A  tall,  ragged  man  rose  suddenly  from  behind 
a  rock,  and  presented  a  rifle.  He  was  so  close 
to  Aiken  that  the  rifle  almost  struck  him  in  the 
face.  Aiken  threw  up  his  hands,  and  fell  back 
with  such  a  jerk  that  he  lost  his  balance,  and 
would  have  fallen  had  he  not  pitched  forward  and 
clasped  the  mule  around  the  neck.  I  pulled  my 
mule  to  a  halt,  and  held  my  hands  as  high  as  I 
could  raise  them.  The  man  moved  his  rifle 
from  side  to  side  so  as  to  cover  each  of  us  in  turn, 
and  cried  in  English,  "  Halt !  Who  goes  there  ?  " 

Aiken  had  not  told  me  the  answer  to  that 
challenge,  so  I  kept  silent.  I  could  hear  Jose 
behind  me  interrupting  his  prayers  with  little 
sobs  of  fright. 

Aiken  scrambled  back  into  an  upright  position, 
held  up  his  hands,  and  cried :  "  Confound  you, 
we  are  travellers,  going  to  the  capital  on  busi 
ness.  Who  the  devil  are  you  ?  " 

"  Qui  vive  ? "  the  man  demanded  over  the 
barrel  of  his  gun. 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?  "  Aiken  cried,  petu 
lantly.  "  Talk  English,  can't  you,  and  put  down 
that  gun." 

The  man  ceased  moving  the  rifle  between  us, 
and  settled  it  on  Aiken. 

"  Cry  *  Long  live  the  government/  "  he  com 
manded,  sharply. 

100 


Captain  Mack!  in 


Aiken  gave  a  sudden  start  of  surprise,  and  I 
saw  his  eyelids  drop  and  rise  again.  Later  when 
I  grew  to  know  him  intimately,  I  could  always 
tell  when  he  was  lying,  or  making  the  winning 
move  in  some  bit  of  knavery,  by  that  nervous 
trick  of  the  eyelids.  He  knew  that  I  knew 
about  it,  and  he  once  confided  to  me  that,  had  he 
been  able  to  overcome  it,  he  would  have  saved 
himself  some  thousands  of  dollars  which  it  had 
cost  him  at  cards. 

But  except  for  this  drooping  of  the  eyelids  he 
gave  no  sign. 

"  No,  I  won't  cry  c  Long  live  the  govern 
ment,'  '  he  answered.  "  That  is,"  he  added 
hastily,  "  I  won't  cry  long  live  anything.  I'm 
the  American  Consul,  and  I'm  up  here  on  busi 
ness.  So's  my  friend." 

The  man  did  not  move  his  gun  by  so  much  as 
a  straw's  breadth. 

"  You  will  cry  f  Long  live  Alvarez '  or  I  will 
shoot  you,"  said  the  man. 

I  had  more  leisure  to  observe  the  man  than 
had  Aiken,  for  it  is  difficult  to  study  the  features 
of  anyone  when  he  is  looking  at  you  down  a 
gun-barrel,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  muscles 
of  the  man's  mouth  as  he  pressed  it  against  the 
stock  were  twitching  with  a  smile.  As  the  side 
of  his  face  toward  me  was  the  one  farther  from 

101 


Captain  Macklin 


the  gun,  I  was  able  to  see  this,  but  Aiken  could 
not,  and  he  answered,  still  more  angrily :  "  I  tell 
you,  I'm  the  American  Consul.  Anyway,  it's 
not  going  to  do  you  any  good  to  shoot  me. 
You  take  me  to  your  colonel  alive,  and  I'll  give 
you  two  hundred  dollars.  You  shoot  me  and 
you  won't  get  a  cent." 

The  moment  was  serious  enough,  and  I  was 
thoroughly  concerned  both  for  Aiken  and  myself, 
but  when  he  made  this  offer,  my  nervousness,  or 
my  sense  of  humor,  got  the  upper  hand  of  me, 
and  I  laughed. 

Having  laughed  I  made  the  best  of  it,  and 
said : 

"  Offer  him  five  hundred  for  the  two  of  us. 
Kang  the  expense." 

The  rifle  wavered  in  the  man's  hands,  he 
steadied  it,  scowled  at  me,  bit  his  lips,  and  then 
burst  into  shouts  of  laughter.  He  sank  back 
against  one  of  the  rocks,  and  pointed  at  Aiken 
mockingly. 

"  I  knew  it  was  you  all  the  time,"  he  cried, 
"  for  certain  I  did.  I  knew  it  was  you  all  the 
time." 

I  was  greatly  relieved,  but  naturally  deeply 
indignant.  I  felt  as  though  someone  had 
jumped  from  behind  a  door,  and  shouted 
"  Boo  !  "  at  me.  I  hoped  in  my  heart  that  the 

102 


Captain  Macklin 

colonel  would  give  the  fellow  eight  hours'  pack 
drill.  "  What  a  remarkable  sentry,"  I  said. 

Aiken  shoved  his  hands  into  his  breeches 
pockets,  and  surveyed  the  man  with  an  expres 
sion  of  the  most  violent  disgust. 

"  You've  got  a  damned  queer  idea  of  a  joke," 
he  said  finally.  "  I  might  have  shot  you  !  " 

The  man  seemed  to  consider  this  the  very 
acme  of  humor,  for  he  fairly  hooted  at  us.  He 
was  so  much  amused  that  it  was  some  moments 
before  he  could  control  himself. 

"  I  saw  you  at  Porto  Cortez,"  he  said,  "I 
knew  you  was  the  American  Consul  all  the  time. 
You  came  to  our  camp  after  the  fight,  and  the  Gen 
eral  gave  you  a  long  talk  in  his  tent.  Don't  you 
remember  me  ?  I  was  standing  guard  outside." 

Aiken  snorted  indignantly. 

"  No,  I  don't  remember  you,"  he  said.  "  But 
I'll  remember  you  next  time.  Are  you  standing 
guard  now,  or  just  doing  a  little  highway  robbery 
on  your  own  account  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I'm  standing  guard  for  keeps,"  said  the 
sentry,  earnestly.  "  Our  camp's  only  two  hun 
dred  yards  back  of  me.  And  our  Captain  told 
me  to  let  all  parties  pass  except  the  enemy,  but 
I  thought  I'd  have  to  jump  you  just  for  fun. 
I'm  an  American  myself,  you  see,  from  Kansas. 
An'  being  an  American  I  had  to  give  the  Ameri- 

103 


Captain  Macklin 

can  Consul  a  scare.  But  say,"  he  exclaimed,  ad 
vancing  enthusiastically  on  Aiken,  with  his  hand 
outstretched,  "  you  didn't  scare  for  a  cent."  He 
shook  hands  violently  with  each  of  us  in  turn. 
"  My  name's  Pete  MacGraw,"  he  added,  expect 
antly. 

"  Well,  now,  Mr.  MacGraw/'  said  Aiken,  "  if 
you'll  kindly  guide  us  to  General  Laguerre  we'll 
use  our  influence  to  have  you  promoted.  You 
need  more  room.  I  imagine  a  soldier  with  your 
original  ideas  must  find  sentry  duty  go  very  dull.'* 

MacGraw  grinned  appreciatively  and  winked. 

"  If  I  take  you  to  my  General  alive,  do  I  get 
that  two  hundred  dollars  ? "  he  asked.  He 
rounded  off  his  question  with  another  yell  of 
laughter. 

He  was  such  a  harmless  idiot  that  we  laughed 
with  him.  But  we  were  silenced  at  once  by  a 
shout  from  above  us,  and  a  command  to  "  Stop 
that  noise."  I  looked  up  and  saw  a  man  in 
semi-uniform  and  wearing  an  officer's,  sash  and 
sword  stepping  from  one  rock  to  another  and 
breaking  his  way  through  the  laurel.  He  greeted 
Aiken  with  a  curt  wave  of  the  hand.  "  Glad  to 
see  you,  Consul,"  he  called.  "You  will  dis 
mount,  please,  and  lead  your  horses  this  way." 
He  looked  at  me  suspiciously  and  then  turned 
and  disappeared  into  the  undergrowth. 

104 


Captain  Macklin 

"  The  General  is  expecting  you,  Aiken,"  his 
voice  called  back  to  us.  "  I  hope  everything  is 
all  right?" 

Aiken  and  I  had  started  to  draw  the  mules 
up  the  hill.  Already  both  the  officer  and 
the  trail  had  been  completely  hidden  by  the 
laurel. 

"  No,  nothing  is  all  right,"  Aiken  growled. 

There  was  the  sound  of  an  oath,  the  laurels 
parted,  and  the  officer's  face  reappeared>  glaring 
at  us  angrily. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  My  information  is  for  General  Laguerre," 
Aiken  answered,  sulkily. 

The  man  sprang  away  again  muttering  to  him 
self,  and  we  scrambled  and  stumbled  after  him, 
guided  by  the  sounds  of  breaking  branches  and 
rolling  stones. 

From  a  glance  I  caught  of  Aiken's  face  I  knew 
he  was  regretting  now,  with  even  more  reason 
than  before,  that  he  had  not  remained  at  the 
coast,  and  I  felt  very  sorry  for  him.  Now  that 
he  was  in  trouble  and  not  patronizing  me  and 
poking  fun  at  me,  I  experienced  a  strong  change 
of  feeling  toward  him.  He  was  the  only  friend 
I  had  in  Honduras,  and  as  between  him  and 
these  strangers  who  had  received  us  so  oddly,  I 
felt  that,  although  it  would  be  to  my  advantage 


Captain  Macklin 

to  be  friends  with  the  greater  number,  my  loyalty 
was  owing  to  Aiken.  So  I  scrambled  up  beside 
him  and  panted  out  with  some  difficulty,  for  the 
ascent  was  a  steep  one  :  "  If  there  is  any  row, 
I'm  with  you,  Aiken." 

"  Oh,  there  won't  be  any  row,"  he  growled. 

"  Well,  if  there  is,"  I  repeated,  "  you  can 
count  me  in." 

"  That's  all  right,"  he  said. 

At  that  moment  we  reached  the  top  of  the  in 
cline,  and  I  looked  down  into  the  hollow  below. 
To  my  surprise  I  found  that  this  side  of  the  hill 
was  quite  barren  of  laurel  or  of  any  undergrowth, 
and  that  it  sloped  to  a  little  open  space  carpeted 
with  high,  waving  grass,  and  cut  in  half  by  a  nar 
row  stream.  On  one  side  of  the  stream  a  great 
herd  of  mules  and  horses  were  tethered,  and  on  the 
side  nearer  us  were  many  smoking  camp-fires  and 
rough  shelters  made  from  the  branches  of  trees. 
Men  were  sleeping  in  the  grass  or  sitting  in  the 
shade  of  the  shelters,  cleaning  accoutrements,  and 
some  were  washing  clothes  in  the  stream.  At 
the  foot  of  the  hill  was  a  tent,  and  ranged  before 
it  two  Gatling  guns  strapped  in  their  canvas 
jackets.  I  saw  that  I  had  at  last  reached  my  des 
tination.  This  was  the  camp  of  the  filibusters. 
These  were  the  soldiers  of  Laguerre's  Foreign 
Legion. 

106 


Ill 


\  LTHOUGH  I  had  reached  my  journey's 
JLIL  end,  although  I  had  accomplished  what  i 
had  set  out  to  do,  I  felt  no  sense  of  elation  nor 
relief.  I  was,  instead,  disenchanted,  discouraged, 
bitterly  depressed.  It  was  so  unutterably  and  mis 
erably  unlike  what  I  had  hoped  to  find,  what  I 
believed  I  had  the  right  to  expect,  that  my  disap 
pointment  and  anger  choked  me.  The  picture  I 
had  carried  in  my  mind  was  one  of  shining  tent- 
walls,  soldierly  men  in  gay  and  gaudy  uniforms, 
fluttering  guidons,  blue  ammunition-boxes  in  or 
derly  array,  smart  sentries  pacing  their  posts,  and 
a  head-quarters  tent  where  busy  officers  bent  over 
maps  and  reports. 

The  scene  I  had  set  was  one  painted  in  martial 
colors,  in  scarlet  and  gold  lace ;  it  moved  to  mar 
tial  music,  to  bugle-calls,  to  words  of  command,, 
to  the  ringing  challenge  of  the  sentry,  and  what  I 
had  found  was  this  camp  of  gypsies,  this  nest  of 
tramps,  without  authority,  discipline,  or  self-re 
spect.  It  was  not  even  picturesque.  My  indig 
nation  stirred  me  so  intensely  that,  as  I  walked 
down  the  hill,  I  prayed  for  a  rude  reception,  that 
I  might  try  to  express  my  disgust. 

107 


Captain  MacJclin 

The  officer  who  had  first  approached  us  stopped 
at  the  opening  of  the  solitary  tent,  and  began 
talking  excitedly  to  someone  inside.  And  as  we 
reached  the  level  ground,  the  occupant  of  the 
tent  stepped  from  it.  He  was  a  stout,  heavy 
man,  with  a  long,  twisted  mustache,  at  which  he 
was  tugging  fiercely.  He  wore  a  red  sash  and  a 
bandman's  tunic,  with  two  stars  sewn  on  the  collar. 
I  could  not  make  out  his  rank,  but  his  first  words 
explained  him. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  at  last,  Mr.  Aiken,"  he 
said.  "  I'm  Major  Reeder,  in  temporary  com 
mand.  You  have  come  to  report,  sir  ?  " 

Aiken  took  so  long  to  reply  that  I  stopped 
studying  the  remarkable  costume  of  the  Major 
and  turned  to  Aiken.  I  was  surprised  to  see 
that  he  was  unquestionably  frightened.  His  eyes 
were  shifting  and  blinking,  and  he  wet  his  lips 
with  his  tongue.  All  his  self-assurance  had  de 
serted  him.  The  officer  who  had  led  us  to  the 
camp  was  also  aware  of  Aiken's  uneasiness,  and 
was  regarding  him  with  a  sneer.  For  some  rea 
son  the  spectacle  of  Aiken's  distress  seemed  to 
afford  him  satisfaction. 

"  I  should  prefer  to  report  to  General  La- 
guerre,"  Aiken  said,  at  last. 

"  I  am  in  command  here,"  Reeder  answered, 
sharply.  "  General  Laguerre  is  absent — recon- 

108 


Captain  Macklin 

noitring.  I  represent  him.  I  know  all  about 
Mr.  Quay's  mission.  It  was  I  who  recommended 
him  to  the  General.  Where  are  the  guns  ?  " 

For  a  moment  Aiken  stared  at  him  helplessly, 
and  then  drew  in  a  quick  breath. 

"  I  don't  know  where  they  are,"  he  said.  "  The 
Panama  arrived  two  days  Ego,  but  when  I  went 
to  unload  the  guns  Captain  Leeds  told  me  they 
had  been  seized  in  New  Orleans  by  the  Treasury 
Department.  Someone  must  have " 

Both  Major  Reeder  and  the  officer  interrupted 
with  a  shout  of  anger. 

"  Then  it's  true  !  "  Reeder  cried.  "  It's  true, 
and — and — you  dare  to  tell  us  so  !  " 

Aiken  raised  his  head  and  for  a  moment  looked 
almost  defiant. 

"  Why  shouldn't  I  tell  you  ?  "  he  demanded, 
indignantly.  "Who  else  was  there  to  tell  you? 
I've  travelled  two  days  to  let  you  know.  I  can't 
help  it  if  the  news  isn't  good.  I'm  just  as  sorry 
as  you  are." 

The  other  officer  was  a  stout,  yellow-haired 
German.  He  advanced  a  step  and  shook  a  soiled 
ringer  in  Aiken's  face.  "  You  can't  help  it,  can't 
you  ?  "  he  cried.  "  You're  sorry,  are  you  ?  You 
won't  be  sorry  when  you're  paid  your  money, 
will  you  ?  How  much  did  you  get  for  us,  hey  ! 

How  much  did  Joe  -Fiske " 

109 


Captain  Macklin 


Reeder  threw  out  his  arm  and  motioned  the 
officer  back.  "  Silence,  Captain  Heinze,"  he 
commanded. 

The  men  of  the  Legion  who  had  happened  to 
be  standing  near  the  tent  when  we  appeared  had 
come  up  to  look  at  the  new  arrivals,  and  when 
they  heard  two  of  their  officers  attacking  Aiken 
they  crowded  still  closer  in  front  of  us,  forming  a 
big  half-circle.  Each  of  them  apparently  was  on 
a  footing  with  his  officers  of  perfect  comradeship, 
and  listened  openly  to  what  was  going  forward  as 
though  it  were  a  personal  concern  of  his  own. 
They  had  even  begun  to  discuss  it  among  them 
selves,  and  made  so  much  noise  in  doing  so  that 
Captain  Heinze  passed  on  Reeder's  rebuke  as 
though  it  had  been  intended  for  them,  command 
ing,  "  Silence  in  the  ranks." 

They  were  not  in  ranks,  and  should  not  have 
been  allowed  where  they  were  in  any  formation, 
but  that  did  not  seem  to  occur  to  either  of  the 
officers. 

"  Silence,"  Reeder  repeated.  "  Now,  Mr. 
Aiken,  I  am  waiting.  What  have  you  to  say  ?  " 

"  What  is  there  for  me  to  say  ? "  Aiken  pro 
tested.  "  I  have  done  all  I  could.  I  told  you 
as  soon  as  I  could  get  here."  Major  Reeder 
drew  close  to  Aiken  and  pointed  his  outstretched 
hand  at  him. 

no 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Mr.  Aiken,"  he  said.  "  Only  four  people 
knew  that  those  guns  were  ordered — Quay,  who 
went  to  fetch  them,  General  Laguerre,  myself, 
and  you.  Some  one  of  us  must  have  sold  out 
the  others ;  no  one  else  could  have  done  it.  It 
was  not  Quay.  The  General  and  I  have  been 
here  in  the  mountains — we  did  not  do  it;  and 
that — that  leaves  you." 

"  It  does  not  leave  me,"  Aiken  cried.  He 
shouted  it  out  with  such  spirit  that  I  wondered 
at  him.  It  was  the  same  sort  of  spirit  which 
makes  a  rat  fight  because  he  can't  get  away,  but  I 
didn't  think  so  then. 

"  It  was  Quay  sold  you  out ! "  Aiken  cried. 
"  Quay  told  the  Isthmian  people  as  soon  as  the 
guns  reached  New  Orleans.  I  suspected  him 
when  he  cabled  me  he  wasn't  coming  back.  I 
know  him.  I  know  just  what  he  is.  He's  been 
on  both  sides  before." 

"  Silence,  you — you,"  Reeder  interrupted.  He 
was  white  with  anger.  "  Mr.  Quay  is  my  friend," 
he  cried.  "  I  trust  him.  I  trust  him  as  I  would 
trust  my  own  brother.  How  dare  you  accuse 
him  ! " 

He  ceased  and  stood  gasping  with  indignation, 
but  his  show  of  anger  encouraged  Captain  Heinze 
to  make  a  fresh  attack  on  Aiken. 

"  Quay  took  you  off  the  beach,"  he  shouted. 
in 


Captain  Macklin 

<c  He  gave  you  food  and  clothes,  and  a  bed  to  lie 
on.  It's  like  you,  to  bite  the  hand  that  fed  you. 
When  have  you  ever  stuck  to  any  side  or  any 
body  if  you  could  get  a  dollar  more  by  selling 
him  out?  " 

The  whole  thing  had  become  intolerable.  It 
was  abject  and  degrading,  like  a  falling-out  among 
thieves.  They  reminded  me  of  a  group  of  drunk 
en  women  I  had  once  seen,  shameless  and  foul- 
mouthed,  fighting  in  the  street,  with  grinning 
night-birds  urging  them  on.  I  felt  in  some  way 
horribly  responsible,  as  though  they  had  dragged 
me  into  it — as  though  the  flying  handfuls  of  mud 
had  splattered  me.  And  yet  the  thing  which  in 
flamed  me  the  most  against  them  was  their  un 
fairness  to  Aiken.  They  would  not  let  him 
speak,  and  they  would  not  see  that  they  were  so 
many,  and  that  he  was  alone.  I  did  not  then 
know  that  he  was  telling  the  truth.  Indeed,  I 
thought  otherwise.  I  did  not  then  know  that  on 
those  occasions  when  he  appeared  to  the  worst 
advantage,  he  generally  was  trying  to  tell  the 
truth. 

Captain  Heinzc  pushed  nearer,  and  shoved  his 
fist  close  to  Aiken's  face. 

"We  know  what  you  are,"  he  jeered.  "We 
know  you're  no  more  on  our  side  than  you're  the 
American  Consul.  You  lied  to  us  about  that, 

112 


Captain  Macklin 

and  youVe  lied  to  us  about  everything  else.  And 
now  weVe  caught  you,  and  we'll  make  you  pay 
for  it." 

One  of  the  men  in  the  rear  of  the  crowd 
shouted,  "  Ah,  shoot  the  beggar ! "  and  others 
began  to  push  forward  and  to  jeer.  Aiken  heard 
them  and  turned  quite  white. 

"  YouVe  caught  me  ?  "  Aiken  stammered. 
*  Why,  I  came  here  of  my  own  will.  Is  it  likely 
I'd  have  done  that  if  I  had  sold  you  out?  " 

"  I  tell  you  you  did  sell  us  out,"  Heinze  roared. 
"  And  you're  a  coward  besides,  and  I  tell  you  so 
to  your  face  !  "  He  sprang  at  Aiken,  and  Aiken 
shrank  back.  It  made  me  sick  to  see  him  do  it. 
I  had  such  a  contempt  for  the  men  against  him 
that  I  hated  his  not  standing  up  to  them.  It  was 
to  hide  the  fact  that  he  had  stepped  back,  that  I 
jumped  in  front  of  him  and  pretended  to  restrain 
him.  I  tried  to  make  it  look  as  though  had  I 
not  interfered,  he  would  have  struck  at  Heinze. 

The  German  had  swung  around  toward  the 
men  behind  him,  as  though  he  were  subpoenaing 
them  as  witnesses. 

"  I  call  him  a  coward  to  his  face  !  '*  he  shouted, 
But  when  he  turned  again  I  was  standing  in 
front  of  Aiken,  and  he  halted  in  surprise,  glaring 
at  me.  I  don't  know  what  made  me  do  it,  except 
that  I  had  heard  enough  of  their  recriminations, 

113 


Captain  Macklin 

and  was  sick  with  disappointment.    I  hated  Heinze 
and  all  of  them,  and  myself  for  being  there. 

"Yes,  you  can  call  him  a  coward,"  I  said,  as 
offensively  as  I  could,  "  with  fifty  men  behind  you. 
How  big  a  crowd  do  you  want  before  you  dare 
insult  a  man  ?  "  Then  I  turned  on  the  others. 
"  Aren't  you  ashamed  of  yourselves,"  I  cried,  "  to 
all  of  you  set  on  one  man  in  your  own  camp  ?  I 
don't  know  anything  about  this  row  and  I  don't 
want  to  know,  but  there's  fifty  men  here  against 
one,  and  I'm  on  the  side  of  that  one.  You're  a 
lot  of  cheap  bullies,"  I  cried,  "  and  this  German 
drill-sergeant,"  I  shouted,  pointing  at  Heinze, 
<f  who  calls  himself  an  officer,  is  the  cheapest  bully 
of  the  lot."  I  jerked  open  the  buckle  which  held 
my  belt  and  revolver,  and  flung  them  on  the 
ground.  Then  I  slipped  off  my  coat,  and  shoved 
it  back  of  me  to  Aiken,  for  I  wanted  to  keep  him 
out  of  it.  It  was  the  luck  of  Royal  Macklin  him- 
seif  that  led  me  to  take  off  my  coat  instead  of 
drawing  my  revolver.  At  the  Point  I  had  been 
accustomed  to  settle  things  with  my  fists,  and  it 
had  been  only  since  I  started  from  the  coast  that 
I  had  carried  a  gun.  A  year  later,  in  the  same 
situation,  I  would  have  reached  for  it.  Had  I 
done  so  that  morning,  as  a  dozen  of  them  assured 
me  later,  they  would  have  shot  me  before  I  could 
have  got  my  hand  on  it.  But.  as  it  was,  when  I 

114 


Captain  Macklin 

rolled  up  my  sleeves  the  men  began  to  laugh,  and 
some  shouted :  <{  Give  him  room,"  "  Make  a 
ring,"  "  Fair  play,  now,"  "  Make  a  ring."  The 
semi-circle  spread  out  and  lengthened  until  it 
formed  a  ring,  with  Heinze  and  Reeder,  and 
Aiken  holding  my  coat,  and  myself  in  the  centre 
of  it. 

I  squared  off  in  front  of  the  German  and  tapped 
him  lightly  on  the  chest  with  the  back  of  my  hand. 

"  Now,  then,"  I  cried,  taunting  him,  "  I  call 
you  a  coward  to  your  face.  What  are  you  going 
to  do  about  it?" 

For  an  instant  he  seemed  too  enraged  and  as 
tonished  to  move,  and  the  next  he  exploded  with 
a  wonderful  German  oath  and  rushed  at  me,  tug 
ging  at  his  sword.  At  the  same  moment  the  men 
gave  a  shout  and  the  ring  broke.  I  thought  they 
had  cried  out  in  protest  when  they  saw  Heinze 
put  his  hand  on  his  sword,  but  as  they  scattered 
and  fell  back  I  saw  that  they  were  looking  neither 
at  Heinze  nor  at  me,  but  at  someone  behind  me. 
Heinze,  too,  halted  as  suddenly  as  though  he  had 
been  pulled  back  by  a  curbed  bit,  and,  bringing 
his  heels  together,  stood  stiffly  at  salute.  I  turned 
and  saw  that  everyone  was  falling  out  of  the  way 
of  a  tall  man  who  came  striding  toward  us,  and 
I  knew  on  the  instant  that  he  was  General  La- 
guerre.  At  the  first  glance  I  disassociated  him 

"5 


Captain  Macklin 

from  his  followers.  He  was  entirely  apart.  In 
any  surroundings  I  would  have  picked  him  out  as 
a  leader  of  men.  Even  a  civilian  would  have 
known  he  was  a  soldier,  for  the  signs  of  his  calling 
were  stamped  on  him  as  plainly  as  the  sterling 
mark  on  silver,  and  although  he  was  not  in  uni 
form  his  carriage  and  countenance  told  you  that 
he  was  a  personage. 

He  was  very  tall  and  gaunt,  with  broad  shoul 
ders  and  a  waist  as  small  as  a  girl's,  and  although 
he  must  then  have  been  about  fifty  years  of  age 
he  stood  as  stiffly  erect  as  though  his  spine  had 
grown  up  into  the  back  of  his  head. 

At  the  first  glance  he  reminded  me  of  Van 
Dyke's  portrait  of  Charles  I.  He  had  the  same 
high-bred  features,  the  same  wistful  eyes,  and  he 
wore  his  beard  and  mustache  in  what  was  called 
the  Van  Dyke  fashion,  before  Louis  Napoleon 
gave  it  a  new  vogue  as  the  "  imperial." 

It  must  have  been  that  I  read  the  wistful  look 
in  his  eyes  later,  for  at  the  moment  of  our  first 
meeting  it  was  a  very  stern  Charles  I.  who  con 
fronted  us,  with  the  delicate  features  stiffened  in 
anger,  and  the  eyes  set  and  burning.  Since  then 
I  have  seen  both  the  wistful  look  and  the  angry 
look  many  times,  and  even  now  I  would  rather 
face  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  than  the  eyes  of  General 
Laguerre  when  you  have  offended  him. 

116 


Captain  Macklin 

His  first  words  were  addressed  to  Reeder. 

"  What  does  this  mean,  sir  ? "  he  demanded, 
st  If  you  cannot  keep  order  in  this  camp  when 
my  back  is  turned  I  shall  find  an  officer  who  can. 
Who  is  this  ?  "  he  added,  pointing  at  me.  I 
became  suddenly  conscious  of  the  fact  that  I  was 
without  my  hat  or  coat,  and  that  my  sleeves  were 
pulled  up  to  the  shoulders.  Aiken  was  just 
behind  me,  and  as  I  turned  to  him  for  my  coat  I 
disclosed  his  presence  to  the  General.  He  gave 
an  exclamation  of  delight. 

"Mr.  Aiken!"  he  cried,  "at  last!"  He 
lowered  his  voice  to  an  eager  whisper.  "  Where 
are  the  guns?"  he  asked. 

Apparently  Aiken  felt  more  confidence  in 
General  Laguerre  than  in  his  officers,  for  at  this 
second  questioning  he  answered  promptly. 

"  I  regret  to  say,  sir,"  he  began,  "  that  the 
guns  were  seized  at  New  Orleans.  Someone 
informed  the  Honduranian  Consul  there,  and 
he " 

"  Seized !  '*  cried  Laguerre.  "  By  whom "-: 
Do  you  mean  we  have  lost  them  ?  " 

Aiken  lowered  his  eyes  and  nodded. 

"  But  how  do  you  know  ? "  Laguerre  de 
manded,  eagerly.  "You  are  not  sure?  Who 
seized  them  ? " 

"  The  Treasury  officers,"  Aiken  answered, 
117 


Captain  Macklin 

"  The  captain  of  the  Panama  told  me  he  saw  the 
guns  taken  on  the  company's  wharf." 

For  some  moments  Laguerre  regarded  him 
sternly,  but  I  do  not  think  he  saw  him.  He 
turned  and  walked  a  few  steps  from  us  and  back 
again.  Then  he  gave  an  upward  toss  of  his 
head  as  though  he  had  accepted  his  sentence. 
"  The  fortunes  of  war,"  he  kept  repeating  to 
himself,  "  the  fortunes  of  war."  He  looked  up 
and  saw  us  regarding  him  with  expressions  of  the 
deepest  concern. 

"  I  thought  I  had  had  my  share  of  them,"  he 
said,  simply.  He  straightened  his  shoulders  and 
frowned,  and  then  looked  at  us  and  tried  to 
smile.  But  the  bad  news  had  cut  deeply.  Dur 
ing  the  few  minutes  since  he  had  come  pushing 
his  way  through  the  crowd,  he  seemed  to  have 
grown  ten  years  older.  He  walked  to  the  door 
of  his  tent  and  then  halted  and  turned  toward 
Reeder. 

5*  I  think  my  fever  is  coming  on  again/*  he 
said.  "  I  believe  I  had  better  rest.  Do  not  let 
them  disturb  me." 

"  Yes,  General,"  Reeder  answered.  Then  he 
pointed  at  Aiken  and  myself.  "  And  what  are 
we  to  do  with  these  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Do  with  these  ?  "  Laguerre  repeated.  "  Why, 
what  did  you  mean  to  do  with  them  r  " 

118 


Captain  Macklin 

Reeder  swelled  out  his  chest  importantly. 
"  If  you  had  not  arrived  when  you  did,  General," 
he  said,  "  I  would  have  had  them  shot ! " 

The  General  stopped  at  the  entrance  to  the 
tent  and  leaned  heavily  against  the  pole.  He 
raised  his  eyes  and  looked  at  us  wearily  and  with 
no  show  of  interest. 

"  Shoot  them  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Why  were  you 
going  to  shoot  them  ?  " 

"  Because,  General,"  Reeder  declared,  theatri 
cally,  pointing  an  accusing  finger  at  Aiken,  "  I 
believe  this  man  sold  our  secret  to  the  Isthmian 
Line.  No  one  knew  of  the  guns  but  our  three 
selves  and  Quay.  And  Quay  is  not  a  man  to 
betray  his  friends.  I  wish  I  could  say  as  much 
for  Mr.  Aiken." 

At  that  moment  Aiken,  being  quite  innocent, 
said  even  less  for  himself,  and  because  he  was 
innocent  looked  the  trapped  and  convicted 
criminal. 

Laguerre's  eyes  glowed  like  two  branding- 
irons.  As  he  fixed  them  on  Aiken's  face  one 
expected  to  see  them  leave  a  mark. 

"  If  the  General  will  only  listen,"  Aiken  stam 
mered.  "  If  you  will  only  give  me  a  hearing,  sir. 
Why  should  I  come  to  your  camp  if  I  had  sold 
you  out  ?  Why  didn't  I  get  away  on  the  first 
steamer,  and  stay  away — as  Quay  did  ?  " 

119 


Captain  Macklin 

The  General  gave  an  exclamation  of  disgust, 
and  shrugged  his  shoulders.  He  sank  back 
slowly  against  one  of  the  Catling  guns. 

"  What  does  it  matter  ? "  he  said,  bitterly. 
"  Why  lock  the  stable  door  now  ?  I  will  give 
you  a  hearing,"  he  said,  turning  to  Aiken,  "  but  it 
would  be  better  for  you  if  I  listened  to  you  later. 
Bring  him  to  me  to-morrow  morning  after  roll- 
call.  And  the  other  ? "  he  asked.  He  pointed 
at  me,  but  his  eyes,  which  were  Leavy  with  dis 
appointment,  were  staring  moodily  at  the  ground. 

Heinze  interposed  himself  quickly. 

"  Aiken  brought  him  here  !  "  he  said.  "  I  be 
lieve  he's  an  agent  of  the  Isthmian  people,  or," 
he  urged,  "  why  did  he  come  here  ?  He  came 
to  spy  out  your  camp,  General,  and  to  report  on 
our  condition." 

"  A  spy  ! "  said  Laguerre,  raising  his  head  and 
regarding  me  sharply. 

"  Yes,"  Heinze  declared,  with  conviction. 
et  A  spy,  General.  A  Government  spy,  and  he 
has  found  out  our  hiding-place  and  counted  our 
men." 

Aiken  turned  on  him  with  a  snarl. 

"  Oh,  you  ass  ! "  he  cried.  "  He  came  as  a 
volunteer.  He  wanted  to  fight  with  you, — for 
$he  sacred  cause  of  liberty  !  " 

*  Yes,  he  wanted  to  fight  with  us,"  shouted 

I2O 


Captain  Macklin 

Heinze,  indignantly.  "  As  soon  as  he  got  into 
the  camp,  he  wanted  to  fight  with  us." 

Laguerre  made  an  exclamation  of  impatience, 
and  rose  unsteadily  from  the  gun-carriage. 

"  Silence  ! '-'  he  commanded.  "  I  tell  you  1 
cannot  listen  to  you  now.  I  will  give  these  men 
a  hearing  after  roll-call.  In  the  meantime  if  they 
are  spies,  they  have  seen  too  much.  Place  them 
under  guard ;  and  if  they  try  to  escape,  shoot 
them." 

I  gave  a  short  laugh  and  turned  to  Aiken. 

"  That's  the  first  intelligent  military  order  I've 
heard  yet,"  I  said. 

Aiken  scowled  at  me  fearfully,  and  Reeder  and 
Heinze  gasped.  General  Laguerre  had  caught 
the  words,  and  turned  his  eyes  on  me.  Like  the 
real  princess  who  could  feel  the  crumpled  rose- 
leaf  under  a  dozen  mattresses,  I  can  feel  it  in  my 
bones  when  I  am  in  the  presence  of  a  real  soldier. 
My  spinal  column  stiffens,  and  my  fingers  twitch 
to  be  at  my  visor.  In  spite  of  their  borrowed 
titles,  I  had  smelt  out  the  civilian  in  Reeder 
and  had  detected  the  non-commissioned  man  in 
Heinze,  and  just  as  surely  I  recognized  the  gen 
eral  officer  in  Laguerre. 

So  when  he  looked  at  me  my  heels  clicked  to 
gether,  my  arm  bent  to  my  hat  and  fell  again  to 
my  trouser  seam,  and  I  stood  at  attention.  It 

121 


Captain  Macklin 

was  as  instinctive  as  though  I  were  back  at  the 
Academy,  and  he  had  confronted  me  in  the  uni 
form  and  yellow  sash  of  a  major-general. 

"  And  what  do  you  know  of  military  orders, 
sir,"  he  demanded,  in  a  low  voice,  "that  you 
feel  competent  to  pass  upon  mine  ?  " 

Still  standing  at  attention,  I  said  :  "  For  the 
last  three  years  I  have  been  at  West  Point,  sir, 
and  have  listened  to  nothing  else.'* 

"  You  have  been  at  West  Point  ?  *'  he  said, 
slowly,  looking  at  me  in  surprise  and  with  evi 
dent  doubt.  "  When  did  you  leave  the  Acad 
emy  ? " 

"  Two  weeks  ago,"  I  answered.  At  this,  he 
looked  even  more  incredulous. 

"  How  does  it  happen,"  he  asked,  "if  you  are 
preparing  for  the  army  at  West  Point,  that  you 
are  now  travelling  in  Honduras  ?  " 

"  I  was  dismissed  from  the  Academy  two 
weeks  ago,"  I  answered.  "  This  was  the  only 
place  where  there  was  any  righting,  so  I  came 
here.  I  read  that  you  had  formed  a  Foreign 
Legion,  and  thought  that  maybe  you  would  let 
me  join  it." 

General  Laguerre  now  stared  at  me  in  genu 
ine  amazement.  In  his  interest  in  the  supposed 
spy,  he  had  forgotten  the  loss  of  his  guns. 

"  You  came  from  West  Point,"  he  repeated, 
122 


Captain  Macklin 

incredulously,  "  all  the  way  to  Honduras — to 
join  me ! "  He  turned  to  the  two  officers. 
"  Did  he  tell  you  this  ?  "  he  demanded. 

They  answered,  "  No,"  promptly,  and  truth 
fully  as  well,  for  they  had  not  given  me  time  to 
tell  them  anything. 

"  Have  you  any  credentials,  passports,  or 
papers  ?  "  he  said. 

When  he  asked  this  I  saw  Reeder  whisper 
eagerly  to  Heinze,  and  then  walk  away.  He 
had  gone  to  search  my  trunk  for  evidence  that  I 
was  a  spy,  and  had  I  suspected  this  I  would  have 
protested  violently,  but  it  did  not  occur  to  me 
then  that  he  would  do  such  a  thing. 

"  I  have  only  the  passport  I  got  from  the  com- 
mandante  at  Porto  Cortez,"  I  said. 

At  the  words  Aiken  gave  a  quick  shake  of  the 
head,  as  a  man  does  when  he  sees  another  move 
the  wrong  piece  on  the  chess-board.  But  when 
1  stared  at  him  inquiringly  his  expression  changed 
instantly  to  one  of  interrogation  and  complete 
unconcern. 

"  Ah  !  "  exclaimed  Heinze,  triumphantly,  "  he 
has  a  permit  from  the  Government." 

"  Let  me  see  it,"  said  the  General. 

I  handed  it  to  him,  and  he  drew  a  camp-chair 
from  the  tent,  and,  seating  himself,  began  to 
compare  me  with  the  passport. 

123 


Captain  Macklin 

<e  In  this,"  he  said  at  last,  "  you  state  that  you 
are  a  commercial  traveller ;  that  you  are  going  to 
die  capital  on  business,  and  that  you  are  a  friend 
of  the  Government." 

I  was  going  to  tell  him  that  until  it  had  been 
handed  me  by  Aiken,  I  had  known  nothing  of 
the  passport,  but  I  considered  that  in  some  way 
this  might  involve  Aiken,  and  so  I  answered : 

"  It  was  necessary  to  tell  them  any  story,  sir, 
in  order  to  get  into  the  interior.  I  could  not  tell 
them  that  I  was  not  a  friend  of  the  Government, 
nor  that  I  was  trying  to  join  you." 

"  Your  stories  are  somewhat  conflicting,"  said 
the  General.  "  You  are  led  to  our  hiding-place 
by  a  man  who  is  himself  under  suspicion,  and  the 
only  credentials  you  can  show  are  from  the  en 
emy.  Why  should  I  believe  you  are  what  you 
say  you  are?  Why  should  I  believe  you  are  not 
a  spy  ?  " 

I  could  not  submit  to  having  my  word  doubted, 
so  I  bowed  stiffly  and  did  not  speak. 

"  Answer  me,"  the  General  commanded, 
"  what  proofs  have  I  ?  " 

"  You  have  nothing  but  my  word  for  it,"  I  said. 

General  Laguerre  seemed  pleased  with  that, 
and  I  believe  he  was  really  interested  in  helping 
me  to  clear  myself.  But  he  had  raised  my 
temper  by  questioning  my  word. 

124 


Captain  Mack] in 

"  Surely  you  must  have  something  to  identify 
you,"  he  urged. 

"  If  I  had  I'd  refuse  to  show  it,"  I  answered. 
w  I  told  you  why  I  came  here.  If  you  think  I  am 
a  spy,  you  can  go  ahead  and  shoot  me  as  a  spy, 
and  find  out  whether  I  told  you  the  truth  after 
ward." 

The  General  smiled  indulgently. 

"  There  would  be  very  little  satisfaction  in  that 
for  me,  or  for  you,"  he  said. 

"  I'm  an  officer  and  a  gentleman,"  I  protested, 
<f  and  I  have  a  right  to  be  treated  as  one.  If  you 
serve  every  gentleman  who  volunteers  to  join  you 
in  the  way  I  have  been  served,  I'm  not  surprised 
that  your  force  is  composed  of  the  sort  you  have 
around  you." 

The  General  raised  his  head  and  looked  at  me 
with  such  a  savage  expression  that  during  the 
pause  which  ensued  I  was  most  uncomfortable. 

"If  your  proofs  you  are  an  officer  are  no 
stronger  than  those  you  offer  that  you  are  a  gen 
tleman,"  he  said,  "  perhaps  you  are  wise  not  to 
show  them.  What  right  have  you  to  claim  you 
are  an  officer  ?  " 

His  words  cut  and  mortified  me  deeply,  chiefly 
because  I  felt  I  deserved  them. 

"  Every  cadet  ranks  a  non  -  commissioned 
man,"  I  answered. 

125 


Captain   Macklin 

"  But  you  are  no  longer  a  cadet,"  he  replied 
"  You  have  been  dismissed.  You  told  me  so 
yourself.  Were  you  dismissed  honorably,  or 
dishonorably  ?  " 

"  Dishonorably,"  I  answered.  I  saw  that  this 
was  not  the  answer  he  had  expected.  He  looked 
both  mortified  and  puzzled,  and  glanced  at 
Heinze  and  Aiken  as  though  he  wished  that  they 
were  out  of  hearing. 

"  What  was  it  for — what  was  the  cause  of  your 
dismissal  ?  "  he  asked.  He  now  spoke  in  a  much 
lower  tone.  "  Of  course,  you  need  not  tell  me," 
he  added. 

"  I  was  dismissed  for  being  outside  the  limits 
of  the  Academy  without  a  permit,"  I  answered. 
t£  I  went  to  a  dance  at  a  hotel  in  uniform." 

"  Was  that  all  ?  "  he  demanded,  smiling. 

"  That  was  the  crime  for  which  I  was  dis 
missed,"  I  said,  sulkily.  The  General  looked  at 
me  for  some  moments,  evidently  in  much  doubt. 
I  believe  he  suspected  that  I  had  led  him  on  to 
asking  me  the  reason  for  my  dismissal,  in  order 
that  I  could  make  so  satisfactory  an  answer.  As 
he  sat  regarding  me,  Heinze  bent  over  him  and 
said  something  to  him  in  a  low  tone,  to  which 
he  replied  :  "  But  that  would  prove  nothing.  He 
might  have  a  most  accurate  knowledge  of  military 
affairs,  and  still  be  an  agent  of  the  Government." 

126 


Captain  Macklin 

"  That  is  so,  General,"  Heinze  answered,  aloud* 
"  But  it  would  prove  whether  he  is  telling  the 
truth  about  his  having  been  at  West  Point.  If 
his  story  is  false  in  part,  it  is  probably  entirely 
false,  as  I  believe  it  to  be." 

"Captain  Heinze  suggests  that  I  allow  him  to 
test  you  with  some  questions,"  the  General  said,, 
doubtfully ;  "  questions  on  military  matters. 
Would  you  answer  them  ?  " 

I  did  not  want  them  to  see  how  eager  I  %was  to 
be  put  to  such  a  test,  so  I  tried  to  look  as  though 
I  were  frightened,  and  said,  cautiously,  "  I  will 
try,  sir."  I  saw  that  the  proposition  to  put  me 
through  an  examination  had  rilled  Aiken  with  the 
greatest  concern.  To  reassure  him,  I  winked 
covertly. 

Captain  Heinze  glanced  about  him  as  though 
looking  for  a  text. 

"  Let  us  suppose,"  he  said,  importantly,  "  that 
you  are  an  inspector-general  come  to  inspect  this 
camp.  It  is  one  that  I  myself  selected ;  as  adju 
tant  it  is  under  my  direction.  What  would  you 
report  as  to  its  position,  its  advantages  and  disad 
vantages  ? " 

I  did  not  have  to  look  about  me.  Without 
moving  from  where  I  stood,  I  could  see  all  that 
was  necessary  of  that  camp.  But  I  first  asked,, 
timidly  :  "  Is  this  camp  a  temporary  one,  made 

127 


Captain  Macklin 

during  a  halt  on  the  march,  or  has  it  been  occupied 
for  some  days  ?  " 

"  We  have  been  here  for  two  weeks/*  said 
Heinze. 

"  Is  it  supposed  that  a  war  is  going  on  ?  "  I 
asked,  politely ;  "  I  mean,  are  we  in  the  presence 
of  an  enemy  ?  " 

"  Of  course,"  answered  Heinze.  "  Certainly 
we  are  at  war." 

"  Then,"  I  said,  triumphantly,  "  in  my  report 
I  should  recommend  that  the  officer  who  selected 
this  camp  should  be  court-martialled." 

Heinze  gave  a  shout  of  indignant  laughter,  and 
Aiken  glared  at  me  as  though  he  thought  I  had 
flown  suddenly  mad,  but  Laguerre  only/rowned 
and  waved  his  hand  impatiently. 

"  You  are  bold,  sir,"  he  said,  grimly ;  "  1  trust 
you  can  explain  yourself." 

I  pointed  from  the  basin  in  which  we  stood,  to 
the  thickly  wooded  hills  around  us. 

"This  camp  has  the  advantage  of  water  and 
grass,"  I  said.  I  spoke  formally,  as  though  I 
were  really  making  a  report.  "  Those  are  its  only 
advantages.  Captain  Heinze  has  pitched  it  in  a 
hollow.  In  case  of  an  attack,  he  has  given  the 
advantage  of  position  to  the  enemy.  Fifty  men 
could  conceal  themselves  on  those  ridges  and  fire 
upon  you  as  effectively  as  though  they  had  you 

128 


Captain  Macklin 

at  the  bottom  of  a  well.  There  are  no  pickets 
out,  except  along  the  trail,  which  is  the  one  ap 
proach  the  enemy  would  not  take.  So  far  as  this 
position  counts,  then,"  I  summed  up,  "  the  camp 
is  an  invitation  to  a  massacre." 

I  did  not  dare  look  at  the  General,  but  I  pointed 
at  the  guns  at  his  side.  "  Your  two  field-pieces 
are  in  their  covers,  and  the  covers  are  strapped  on 
them.  It  would  take  three  minutes  to  get  them 
into  action.  Instead  of  being  here  in  front  of  the 
tent,  they  should  be  up  there  on  those  two  high 
est  points.  There  are  no  racks  for  the  men's  rifles 
or  ammunition  belts.  The  rifles  are  lying  on  the 
ground  and  scattered  everywhere — in  case  of  an 
attack  the  men  would  not  know  where  to  lay  their 
hands  on  them.  It  takes  only  two  forked  sticks 
and  a  ridge-pole  with  nicks  in  it,  to  make  an  ex 
cellent  gun-rack,  but  there  is  none  of  any  sort. 
As  for  the  sanitary  arrangements  of  the  camp,  they 
are  nil.  The  refuse  from  the  troop  kitchen  is 
scattered  all  over  the  place,  and  so  are  the  branches 
on  which  the  men  have  been  lying.  There  is  no 
way  for  them  to  cross  that  stream  without  their 
getting  their  feet  wet;  and  every  officer  knows 
that  wet  feet  are  worse  than  wet  powder.  The 
place  does  not  look  as  though  it  had  been  policed 
since  you  came  here.  It's  a  fever  swamp.  If 
you  have  been  here  two  weeks,  it's  a  wonder  your 

129 


Captain  Macklin 

whole  force  isn't  as  rotten  as  sheep.  And  there  !  * 
I  cried,  pointing  at  the  stream  which  cut  the  camp 
in  two — "  there  are  men  bathing  and  washing  their 
clothes  up-stream,  and  those  men  below  them  are 
filling  buckets  with  water  for  cooking  and  drinking. 
Why  have  you  no  water-guards  ?  You  ought  to 
have  a  sentry  there,  and  there.  The  water  above 
the  first  sentry  should  be  reserved  for  drinking, 
below  him  should  be  the  place  for  watering  your 
horses,  and  below  the  second  sentry  would  be  the 
water  for  washing  clothes.  Why,  these  things  are 
the  A,  B,  C,  of  camp  life."  For  the  first  time 
since  I  had  begun  to  speak,  I  turned  on  Heinze 
and  grinned  at  him. 

"  How  do  you  like  my  report  on  your  camp  ?  " 
1  asked.  "  Now,  don't  you  agree  with  me  that 
you  should  be  court-martialled  ? "  Heinze's 
anger  exploded  like  a  shell. 

"  You  should  be  court-martialled  yourself !  " 
he  shouted.  "  You  are  insulting  our  good  Gen 
eral.  For  me,  I  do  not  care.  But  you  shall  not 
reflect  upon  my  commanding  officer,  for  him 
I " 

"That  will  do,  Captain  Heinze,"  Laguerre 
said,  quietly.  "  That  will  do,  thank  you."  He 
did  not  look  up  at  either  of  us,  but  for  some 
time  sat  with  his  elbow  on  his  knee  and  with  his 
chin  resting  in  the  palm  of  his  hand,  staring  at 

130 


Captain  Macklin 

the  camp.  There  was  a  long,  and,  for  me,  an 
awkward  silence.  The  General  turned  his  head 
and  stared  at  me.  His  expression  was  exceed 
ingly  grave,  but  without  resentment. 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  he  said,  finally.  Heinze 
and  Aiken  moved  expectantly  forward,  anxious  to 
hear  him  pass  sentence  upon  me.  Seeing  this  he 
raised  his  voice  and  repeated :  "  You  are  quite 
right  in  what  you  say  about  the  camp.  All  you 
say  is  quite  true." 

He  leaned  forward  with  his  elbows  on  his 
knees,  and,  as  he  continued  speaking  with  his 
face  averted,  it  was  as  though  he  were  talking  to 
himself. 

"  We  grow  careless  as  we  grow  older,"  he  said. 
"  One  grows  less  difficult  to  please."  His  tone 
was  that  of  a  man  excusing  himself  to  himself. 
4t  The  old  standards,  the  old  models,  pass  away 
and — and  failures,  failures  come  and  dull  the  en» 
ergy."  His  voice  dropped  into  a  monotone  ;  he 
seemed  to  have  forgotten  us  entirely. 

It  must  have  been  then  that  for  the  first  time  I 
saw  the  wistful  look  come  into  his  eyes,  and  sud 
denly  felt  deeply  sorry  for  him  and  wished  that  I 
might  dare  to  tell  him  so.  I  was  not  sorry  for 
any  act  or  speech  of  mine.  They  had  attacked 
me,  and  1  had  only  defended  myself.  I  was  not 
repentant  for  anything  I  had  said  ,  my  sorrow 


Captain  Macklin 

was  for  what  I  read  in  the  General's  eyes  as  he 
sat  staring  out  into  the  valley.  It  was  the  sad 
dest  and  loneliest,  look  that  I  had  ever  seen. 
There  was  no  bitterness  in  it,  but  great  sadness 
and  weariness  and  disappointment,  and  above  all, 
loneliness,  utter  and  complete  loneliness. 

'  He  glanced  up  and  saw  me  watching  him,  and 
for  a  moment  regarded  me  curiously,  and  then, 
as  though  I  had  tried  to  force  my  way  into  his 
solitude,  turned  his  eyes  quickly  away. 

I  had  forgotten  that  I  was  a  suspected  spy  un 
til  the  fact  was  recalled  to  me  at  that  moment  by 
the  reappearance  of  Major  Reeder.  He  came 
bustling  past  me,  carrying  as  I  saw,  to  my  great 
indignation,  the  sword  which  had  been  presented 
to  my  grandfather,  and  which  my  grandfather 
had  given  to  me.  I  sprang  after  him  and  twisted 
it  out  of  his  hand. 

"  How  dare  you  !  "  I  cried.  "  You  have 
opened  my  trunk  !  How  dare  you  pry  into  my 
affairs  ?  General  Laguerre !  "  I  protested.  "  1 
appeal  to  you,  sir." 

"  Major  Reeder,"  the  General  demanded, 
sharply,  "  what  does  this  mean  ?  " 

"  I  was  merely  seeking  evidence,  General,' 
said  Reeder.  "  You  asked  for  his  papers,  and  1 
went  to  look  for  them." 

"  I  gave  you  no  orders  to  pry  into  this  gentle- 
132 


Captain  Macklin 

man's  trunk,"  said  the  General.  "  You  have  ex 
ceeded  your  authority.  You  have  done  very  ill, 
sir.  You  have  done  very  ill." 

While  the  General  was  reproving  Reeder,  his 
eyes,  instead  of  looking  at  the  officer,  were  fixed 
upon  my  sword.  It  was  sufficiently  magnificent 
to  attract  the  attention  of  anyone,  certainly  of  any 
soldier.  The  scabbard  was  of  steel,  wonderfully 
engraved,  the  hilt  was  of  ivory,  and  the  hilt-guard 
and  belt  fastenings  were  all  of  heavy  gold.  The 
General's  face  was  filled  with  appreciation. 

"  You  have  a  remarkably  handsome  sword 
there,"  he  said,  and  hesitated,  courteously,  " — I 
beg  your  pardon,  I  have  not  heard  your  name  ? " 

I  was  advancing  to  show  the  sword  to  him, 
when  my  eye  fell  upon  the  plate  my  grandfather 
had  placed  upon  it,  and  which  bore  the  inscription: 
"  To  Royal  Macklin,  on  his  appointment  to  the 
United  States  Military  Academy,  from  his  Grand 
father,  John  M.  Hamilton,  Maj.  Gen.  U.S.A." 

"  My  name  is  Macklin,  sir,"  I  said,  "  Royal 
Macklin/*  I  laid  the  sword  lengthwise  in  his 
hands,  and  then  pointed  at  the  inscription.  "  You 
will  find  it  there,"  I  said.  The  General  bowed 
and  bent  his  head  over  the  inscription  and  then 
read  the  one  beside  it.  This  stated  that  the  sword 
had  been  presented  by  the  citizens  of  New  York 
to  Major-General  John  M.  Hamilton  in  recog- 

133 


Captain  Macklin 

nition  of  his  distinguished  services  during  the 
war  with  Mexico.  The  General  glanced  up  at 
me  in  astonishment. 

"  General  Hamilton  ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Gen 
eral  John  Hamilton !  Is  that — was  he  your 
grandfather  ? " 

I  bowed  my  head,  and  the  General  stared  at 
me  as  though  I  had  contradicted  him. 

"  But,  let  me  tell  you,  sir,"  he  protested,  "  that 
he  was  my  friend.  General  Hamilton  was  my 
friend  for  many  years.  Let  me  tell  you,  sir," 
he  went  on,  excitedly,  f<  that  your  grandfather 
was  a  brave  and  courteous  gentleman,  a  true 
friend  and — and  a  great  soldier,  sir,  a  great  soldier. 
I  knew  your  grandfather  well.  I  knew  him 
well."  He  rose  suddenly,  and,  while  still  hold 
ing  the  sword  close  to  him,  shook  my  hand. 

"  Captain  Heinze,"  he  said,  "  bring  out  a  chair 
for  Mr.  Macklin."  He  did  not  notice  the  look 
of  injury  with  which  Heinze  obeyed  this  request. 
But  I  did,  and  I  enjoyed  the  spectacle,  and  as 
Heinze  handed  me  the  camp-chair  I  thanked 
him  politely.  I  could  afford  to  be  generous. 

The  General  was  drawing  the  sword  a  few 
inches  from  its  scabbard  and  shoving  it  back 
again,  turning  it  over  in  his  hands. 

"  And  to  think  that  this  is  John  Hamilton's 
sword,"  he  said,  "  and  that  you  are  John  Hamil- 

J34 


Captain  Macklin 

ton's  grandson !  '*  As  the  sword  lay  across  his 
knees  he  kept  stroking  it  and  touching  it  as  one 
might  caress  a  child,  glancing  up  at  me  from 
time  to  time  with  a  smile.  It  seemed  to  have 
carried  him  back  again  into  days  and  scenes  to 
which  we  all  were  strangers,  and  we  watched  him 
without  speaking.  He  became  suddenly  con 
scious  of  our  silence,  and,  on  looking  up,  seemed 
to  become  uncomfortably  aware  of  the  presence 
of  Aiken  and  the  two  officers. 

"  That  will  do,  gentlemen,'*  he  said.  {f  You 
will  return  with  Mr.  Aiken  after  roll-call."  The 
officers  saluted  as  they  moved  away,  with  Aiken 
between  them.  He  raised  his  eyebrows  and 
tapped  himself  on  the  chest.  I  understood  that 
he  meant  by  this  that  I  was  to  say  a  good  word 
for  him,  and  I  nodded.  When  they  had  left  us 
the  General  leaned  forward  and  placed  his  hand 
upon  my  shoulder. 

"  Now  tell  me,"  he  said.  "  Tell  me  every 
thing.  Tell  me  what  you  are  doing  here,  and 
why  you  ran  away  from  home.  Trust  me  en 
tirely,  and  do  not  be  afraid  to  speak  the  whole 
truth." 

I  saw  that  he  thought  I  had  left  home  because 
I  had  been  guilty  of  some  wildness,  if  not  of 
some  crime,  and  I  feared  that  my  story  would 
prove  so  inoffensive  that  he  would  think  I  was 

'35 


Captain  Macklin 

holding  something  back.  But  his  manner  was  so 
gentle  and  generous  that  I  plunged  in  boldly.  I 
told  him  everything ;  of  my  life  with  my  grand 
father,  of  my  disgrace  at  the  Academy,  of  my 
desire,  in  spite  of  my  first  failure,  to  still  make 
myself  a  soldier.  And  then  I  told  him  of  how 
I  had  been  disappointed  and  disillusioned,  and 
how  it  had  hurt  me  to  find  that  this  fight  seemed 
so  sordid  and  the  motives  of  all  engaged  only 
mercenary  and  selfish.  But  once  did  he  inter 
rupt  me,  and  then  by  an  exclamation  which  I 
mistook  for  an  exclamation  of  disbelief,  and 
which  I  challenged  quickly.  "  But  it  is  true, 
sir,"  I  said.  "  I  joined  the  revolutionists  for  just 
that  reason — because  they  were  fighting  for  their 
liberty  and  because  they  had  been  wronged  and 
were  the  under-dogs  in  the  fight,  and  because 
Alvarez  is  a  tyrant.  I  had  no  other  motive. 
Indeed,  you  must  believe  me,  sir,"  I  protested, 
"  or  I  cannot  talk  to  you.  It  is  the  truth." 

"  The  truth  !  "  exclaimed  Laguerre,  fiercely  ; 
and  as  he  raised  his  eyes  I  saw  that  they  had  sud 
denly  filled  with  tears.  "  It  is  the  first  time  I  have 
heard  the  truth  in  many  years.  It  is  what  I  have 
preached  myself  for  half  a  lifetime;  what  I  have 
lived  for  and  fought  for.  Why,  here,  now,"  he 
cried,  "  while  I  have  been  sitting  listening  to  you, 
it  was  as  though  the  boy  I  used  to  be  had  come 

136 


Captain  Macklin 

back  to  talk  to  me,  bringing  my  old  ideals,  the 
old  enthusiasm."  His  manner  and  his  tone  sud 
denly  altered,  and  he  shook  his  head  and  placed 
his  hand  almost  tenderly  upon  my  own.  "  But  I 
warn  you,"  he  said,  "  I  warn  you  that  you  are 
wrong.  You  have  begun  young,  and  there  is  yet 
time  for  you  to  turn  back ;  but  if  you  hope  for 
money,  or  place,  or  public  favor,  you  have  taken 
the  wrong  road.  You  will  be  a  rolling-stone 
among  milestones,  and  the  way  is  all  down  hilL 
I  began  to  fight  when  I  was  even  younger  than 
you.  I  fought  for  whichever  party  seemed  to  me 
to  have  the  right  on  its  side.  Sometimes  I  have 
fought  for  rebels  and  patriots,  sometimes  for 
kings,  sometimes  for  pretenders.  I  was  out  with 
Garibaldi,  because  I  believed  he  would  give  a 
republic  to  Italy ;  but  I  fought  against  the  repub 
lic  of  Mexico,  because  its  people  were  rotten  and 
corrupt,  and  I  believed  that  the  emperor  would 
rule  them  honestly  and  well.  I  have  always 
chosen  my  own  side,  the  one  which  seemed  to  me 
promised  the  most  good ;  and  yet,  after  thirty 
years,  I  am  where  you  see  me  to-night.  I  am  an 
old  man  without  a  country,  I  belong  to  no  politi 
cal  party,  I  have  no  family,  I  have  no  home.  I 
have  travelled  over  all  the  world  looking  for  that 
country  which  was  governed  for  the  greater  good 
of  the  greater  number,  and  I  have  fought  only  for 

137 


Captain  Macklin 

those  men  who  promised  to  govern  unselfishly  and 
as  the  servants  of  the  people.  But  when  the  fight 
ing  was  over,  and  they  were  safe  in  power,  they 
had  no  use  for  me  nor  my  advice.  They  laughed, 
and  called  me  a  visionary  and  a  dreamer.  ( You 
are  no  statesman,  General,'  they  would  say  to  me. 
'  Your  line  is  the  fighting-line.  Go  back  to  it.' 
And  yet,  when  I  think  of  how  the  others  have 
used  their  power,  I  believe  that  I  could  have  ruled 
the  people  as  well,  and  yet  given  them  more 
freedom,  and  made  more  of  them  more  happy.'* 

The  moon  rose  over  the  camp,  and  the  night 
grew  chill ;  but  still  we  sat,  he  talking  and  I  lis 
tening  as  I  had  used  to  listen  when  I  sat  at  my 
grandfather's  knee  and  he  told  me  tales  of  war 
and  warriors.  They  brought  us  coffee  and  food, 
and  we  ate  with  an  ammunition-box  for  a  table, 
he  still  talking  and  I  eager  to  ask  questions,  and 
yet  fearful  of  interrupting  him.  He  told  of  great 
battles  which  had  changed  the  history  of  Europe, 
of  secret  expeditions  which  had  never  been  re 
corded  even  in  his  own  diary,  of  revolutions  which 
after  months  of  preparation  had  burst  forth  and 
had  been  crushed  between  sunset  and  sunrise  ;  of 
emperors,  kings,  patriots,  and  charlatans.  There 
was  nothing  that  I  had  wished  to  do,  and  that  I 
had  imagined  myself  doing,  that  he  had  not  ac 
complished  in  reality — the  acquaintances  he  had 

138 


The  moon  rose  over  the  camp 
still  we  sat. 


.     but 


Captain  Macklin 

made  among  the  leaders  of  men,  the  adventures 
he  had  suffered,  the  honors  he  had  won,  were 
those  which  to  me  were  the  most  to  be  desired. 

The  scene  around  us  added  color  to  his  words. 
The  moonlight  fell  on  ghostly  groups  of  men 
seated  before  the  camp-fires,  their  faces  glowing  in 
the  red  light  of  the  ashes ;  on  the  irregular  rows 
of  thatched  shelters  and  on  the  shadowy  figures 
of  the  ponies  grazing  at  the  picket-line.  All  the 
odors  of  a  camp,  which  to  me  are  more  grateful 
than  those  of  a  garden,  were  borne  to  us  on  the 
damp  night-air  ;  the  clean  pungent  smell  of  burn- 
ing  wood,  the  scent  of  running  water,  the  smell 
of  many  horses  crowded  together  and  of  wet  sad 
dles  and  accoutrements.  And  above  the  swift 
rush  of  the  stream,  we  could  hear  the  ceaseless 
pounding  of  the  horses'  hoofs  on  the  turf,  the 
murmurs  of  the  men's  voices,  and  the  lonely  cry 
of  the  night-birds. 

It  was  past  midnight  when  the  General  rose, 
and  my  brain  rioted  with  the  pictures  he  had 
drawn  for  me.  Surely,  if  I  had  ever  considered 
turning  back,  I  now  no  longer  tolerated  the 
thought  of  it.  If  he  had  wished  to  convince  me 
that  the  life  of  a  soldier  of  fortune  was  an  un 
grateful  one  he  had  set  about  proving  it  in  the 
worst  possible  way.  At  that  moment  I  saw  no 
career  so  worthy  to  be  imitated  as  his  own,  no 

139 


Captain  Macklin 

success  to  be  so  envied  as  his  failures.  And  in 
the  glow  and  inspiration  of  his  talk,  and  with  the 
courage  of  a  boy,  I  told  him  so.  I  think  he  was 
not  ill  pleased  at  what  1  said,  nor  with  me.  He 
seemed  to  approve  of  what  I  had  related  of  my 
self,  and  of  the  comments  I  had  made  upon  his 
reminiscences.  He  had  said,  again  and  again  : 
"  That  is  an  intelligent  question,"  "  You  have 
put  your  finger  on  the  real  weakness  of  the  attack," 
"  That  was  exactly  the  error  in  his  strategy." 

When  he  turned  to  enter  his  tent  he  shook  my 
hand.  "  I  do  not  know  when  I  have  talked  so 
much,"  he  laughed,  "  nor,"  he  added,  with  grave 
courtesy,  "  when  I  have  had  so  intelligent  a  lis 
tener.  Good-night." 

Throughout  the  evening  he  had  been  holding 
my  sword,  and  as  he  entered  the  tent  he  handed 
it  to  me. 

"  Oh,  I  forgot,"  he  said.  "  Here  is  your 
sword,  Captain." 

The  flaps  of  the  tent  fell  behind  him,  and  I 
was  left  outside  of  them,  incredulous  and  trem 
bling. 

I  could  not  restrain  myself,  and  I  pushed  the 
flaps  aside. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  General,"  I  stammered. 

He  had  already  thrown  himself  upon  his  cot, 
but  he  rose  on  his  elbow  and  stared  at  me. 

140 


Captain  Macklin 


"What  is  it?"  he  demanded. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  I  gasped,  "  but 
what  did  you  call  me  then — just  now?  " 

"  Call  you,"  he  said.  "  Oh,  I  called  you 
c  captain.*  You  are  a  captain.  I  will  assign  you 
your  troop  to-morrow." 

He  turned  and  buried  his  face  in  his  arm,  and 
unable  to  thank  him  I  stepped  outside  of  the 
tent  and  stood  looking  up  at  the  stars,  with  my 
grandfather's  sword  clasped  close  in  my  hands. 
And  I  was  so  proud  and  happy  that  I  believe  I 
almost  prayed  that  he  could  look  down  and  see 
me. 

That  was  how  I  received  my  first  commission 
— in  a  swamp  in  Honduras,  from  General  La- 
guerre,  of  the  Foreign  Legion,  as  he  lay  half- 
asleep  upon  his  cot.  It  may  be,  if  I  continue  as 
I  have  begun,  I  shall  receive  higher  titles,  from 
ministers  of  war,  from  queens,  presidents,  and 
sultans.  I  shall  have  a  trunk  filled,  like  that 
of  General  Laguerre's,  with  commissions,  bre 
vets,  and  patents  of  nobility,  picked  up  in  many 
queer  courts,  in  many  queer  corners  of  the 
globe. 

But  to  myself  I  shall  always  be  Captain  Mack 
lin,  and  no  other  rank  nor  title  will  ever  count 
with  me  as  did  that  first  one,  which  came  without 
my  earning  it,  which  fell  from,  the  lips  of  an  old 

141 


Captain  Macklin 

man  without  authority  to  give  it,  but  which  seemed 
to  touch  me  like  a  benediction. 

•  ••••••• 

The  officer  from  whom  I  took  over  my  troop 
was  a  German,  Baron  Herbert  von  Ritter.  He  had 
served  as  an  aide-de-camp  to  the  King  of  Bavaria, 
and  his  face  was  a  patchwork  of  sword-cuts  which 
he  had  received  in  the  students'  duels.  No  one 
knew  why  he  had  left  the  German  army.  He 
had  been  in  command  of  the  troop  with  the  rank 
of  captain,  but  when  the  next  morning  Laguerre 
called  him  up  and  told  him  that  I  was  now  his 
captain  he  seemed  rather  relieved  than  otherwise. 

"  They're  a  hard  lot,"  he  said  to  me,  as  we  left 
the  General.  "  I'm  glad  to  get  rid  of  them." 

The  Legion  was  divided  into  four  troops  of 
about  fifty  men  each.  Only  half  of  the  men  were 
mounted,  but  the  difficulties  of  the  trail  were  so 
great  that  the  men  on  foot  were  able  to  move 
quite  as  rapidly  as  those  on  mule-back.  Under 
Laguerre  there  were  Major  Webster,  an  old 
man,  who  as  a  boy  had  invaded  Central  America 
with  William  Walker's  expedition,  and  who  ever 
since  had  lived  in  Honduras ;  Major  Reeder  and 
five  captains ,  Miller,  who  was  in  charge  of  a  dozen 
native  Indians  and  who  acted  as  a  scout ;  Captain 
Heinze,  two  Americans  named  Porter  and  Rus 
sell,  and  about  a  dozen  lieutenants  of  every  na- 

142 


Captain  Macklin 

tionality.  Heinze  had  been  adjutant  of  the  force, 
but  the  morning  after  my  arrival  the  General  ap 
pointed  me  to  that  position,  and  at  roll-call  an 
nounced  the  change  to  the  battalion. 

"  We  have  been  waiting  here  for  two  weeks  for 
a  shipment  of  machine  guns,"  he  said  to  them. 
"They  have  not  arrived  and  I  cannot  wait  for 
them  any  longer.  The  battalion  will  start  at 
once  for  Santa  Barbara,  where  I  expect  to  get  you 
by  to-morrow  night.  There  we  will  join  General 
Garcia,  and  continue  with  him  until  we  enter  the 
capital." 

The  men,  who  were  properly  weary  of  lying 
idle  in  the  swamp,  interrupted  him  with  an  en 
thusiastic  cheer  and  continued  shouting  until  he 
lifted  his  hand. 

"  Since  we  have  been  lying  here,"  he  said,  "  I 
have  allowed  you  certain  liberties,  and  discipline 
has  relaxed.  But  now  that  we  are  on  the  march 
again  you  will  conduct  yourselves  like  soldiers, 
and  discipline  will  be  as  strictly  enforced  as  in  any 
army  in  Europe.  Since  last  night  we  have  re 
ceived  an  addition  to  our  force  in  the  person  of 
Captain  Macklin,  who  has  volunteered  his  ser 
vices.  Captain  Macklin  comes  of  a  distinguished 
family  of  soldiers,  and  he  has  himself  been  edu 
cated  at  West  Point.  I  have  appointed  him 
Captain  of  D  Troop  and  Adjutant  of  the  Legion. 


Captain  Macklin 

As  adjutant  you  will  recognize  his  authority  as 
you  would  my  own.  You  will  now  break  camp, 
and  be  prepared  to  march  in  half  an  hour." 

Soon  after  we  had  started  we  reached  a  clear 
ing,  and  Laguerre  halted  us  and  formed  the 
column  into  marching  order.  Captain  Miller, 
who  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  trail,  and 
his  natives,  were  sent  on  two  hundred  yards 
ahead  of  us  as  a  point.  They  were  followed  by 
Heinze  with  his  Gatling  guns.  Then  came  La 
guerre  and  another  troop,  then  Reeder  with  the 
two  remaining  troops  and  our  "  transport "  be 
tween  them.  Our  transport  consisted  of  a  dozen 
mules  carrying  bags  of  coffee,  beans,  and  flour, 
our  reserve  ammunition,  the  General's  tent,  and 
whatever  few  private  effects  the  officers  pos 
sessed  over  and  above  the  clothes  they  stood  in. 
I  brought  up  the  rear  with  D  Troop.  We 
moved  at  a  walk  in  single  file  and  without  flank 
ers,  as  the  jungle  on  either  side  of  the  trail  was 
impenetrable.  Our  departure  from  camp  had  been 
so  prompt  that  I  had  been  given  no  time  to  be 
come  acquainted  with  my  men,  but  as  we  tramped 
forward  I  rode  along  with  them  or  drew  to  one 
side  to  watch  them  pass  and  took  a  good  look  at 
them.  Carrying  their  rifles,  and  with  their 
blanket-rolls  and  cartridge-belts  slung  across 
their  shoulders,  they  made  a  better  appearance 

144 


Captain  Macklin 

than  when  they  were  sleeping  around  the  camp. 
As  the  day  grew  on  I  became  more  and  more 
proud  of  my  command.  The  baron  pointed  out 
those  of  the  men  who  could  be  relied  upon,  and 
I  could  pick  out  for  myself  those  who  had  re 
ceived  some  military  training.  When  I  asked 
these  where  they  had  served  before,  they  seemed 
pleased  at  my  having  distinguished  the  difference 
between  them  and  the  other  volunteers,  and 
saluted  properly  and  answered  briefly  and  re- 
'spectfully. 

If  I  was  proud  of  the  men,  I  was  just  as 
pleased  with  myself,  or,  I  should  say,  with  my 
luck.  Only  two  weeks  before  I  had  been  read 
out  to  the  battalion  at  West  Point,  as  one  unfit 
to  hold  a  commission,  and  here  I  was  riding  at 
the  head  of  my  own  troop.  I  was  no  second 
lieutenant  either,  with  a  servitude  of  five  years 
hanging  over  me  before  1  could  receive  my  first 
bar,  but  a  full-fledged  captain,  with  fifty  men 
under  him  to  care  for  and  discipline  and  lead  into 
battle.  There  was  not  a  man  in  my  troop  who 
was  not  at  least  a  few  years  older  than  myself, 
and  as  I  rode  in  advance  of  them  and  heard  the 
creak  of  the  saddles  and  the  jingle  of  the  picket- 
pins  and  water-bottles,  or  turned  and  saw  the  long 
line  stretching  out  behind  me,  1  was  as  proud  as 
Napoleon  returning  in  triumph  to  Paris.  I  had 

H5 


Captain  Macklin 

brought  with  me  from  the  Academy  my  scarlet 
sash,  and  wore  it  around  my  waist  under  my 
sword-belt.  I  also  had  my  regulation  gauntlets, 
and  a  campaign  sombrero,  and  as  I  rode  along  I 
remembered  the  line  about  General  Stonewall 
Jackson,  in  "  Barbara  Frietchie," 

The  leader  glancing  left  and  right. 

1  repeated  it  to  myself,  and  scowled  up  at  the 
trees  and  into  the  jungle.  It  was  a  tremendous 
feeling  to  be  a  "  leader." 

At  noon  the  heat  was  very  great,  and  La- 
guerre  halted  the  column  at  a  little  village  and 
ordered  the  men  to  eat  their  luncheon.  I  posted 
pickets,  appointed  a  detail  to  water  the  mules, 
and  asked  two  of  the  inhabitants  for  the  use  of 
their  clay  ovens.  In  the  other  troops  each  man, 
or  each  group  of  men,  were  building  separate 
fires  and  eating  alone  or  in  messes  of  five  or  six 
but  by  detailing  four  of  my  men  to  act  as  cooks 
for  the  whole  troop,  and  six  others  to  tend  the 
fires  in  the  ovens,  and  six  more  to  carry  water  for 
the  coffee,  all  of  my  men  were  comfortably  fed 
before  those  in  the  other  troops  had  their  fires 
going. 

Von  Ritter  had  said  to  me  that  during  the  two 
weeks  in  camp  the  men  had  used  up  all  their  to 
bacco,  and  that  their  nerves  were  on  edge  for  lack 

146 


Captain  Macklin 

of  something  to  smoke.  So  I  hunted  up  a  native 
who  owned  a  tobacco  patch,  and  from  him,  for 
three  dollars  in  silver,  I  bought  three  hundred 
cigars.  I  told  Von  Ritter  to  serve  out  six  of 
them  to  each  of  the  men  of  D  Troop.  It  did 
me  good  to  see  how  much  they  enjoyed  them. 
For  the  next  five  minutes  every  man  I  met  had 
a  big  cigar  in  his  mouth,  which  he  would  remove 
with  a  grin,  and  say,  "  Thank  you.  Captain.'*  I 
did  not  give  them  the  tobacco  to  gain  popularity, 
for  in  active  service  I  consider  that  tobacco  is  as 
necessary  for  the  man  as  food,  and  I  also  believe 
that  any  officer  who  tries  to  buy  the  good-will  of 
his  men  is  taking  the  quickest  way  to  gain  their 
contempt. 

Soldiers  know  the  difference  between  the  of 
ficer  who  bribes  and  pets  them,  and  the  one  who, 
before  his  own  tent  is  set  up,  looks  to  his  men 
and  his  horses,  who  distributes  the  unpleasant 
duties  of  the  camp  evenly,  and  who  knows  what 
he  wants  done  the  first  time  he  gives  an  order, 
and  does  not  make  unnecessary  work  for  others 
because  he  cannot  make  up  his  mind. 

After  I  had  seen  the  mules  watered  and 
picketed  in  the  public  corral,  I  went  to  look  for 
the  General,  whom  I  found  with  the  other  officers 
at  the  house  of  the  Alcalde.  They  had  learned 
news  of  the  greatest  moment.  Two  nights  previ- 


Captain  Macklin 

ous,  General  Garcia  had  been  attacked  in  force 
at  Santa  Barbara,  and  had  abandoned  the  town 
without  a  fight.  Nothing  more  was  known,  ex 
cept  that  he  was  either  falling  back  along  the 
trail  to  join  us,  or  was  waiting  outside  the  city  for 
us  to  come  up  and  join  him. 

Laguerre  at  once  ordered  the  bugles  to  sound 
"  Boots  and  saddles,"  and  within  five  min 
utes  we  were  on  the  trail  again  with  instruc 
tions  to  press  the  men  forward  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  The  loss  of  Santa  Barbara  was  a 
serious  calamity.  It  was  the  town  third  in  im 
portance  in  Honduras,  and  it  had  been  the 
stronghold  of  the  revolutionists.  The  moral  ef 
fect  of  the  fact  that  Garcia  held  it,  had  been  of 
the  greatest  possible  benefit.  As  Garcia's  force 
consisted  of  2,000  men  and  six  pieces  of  artillery, 
it  was  inexplicable  to  Laguerre  how  without  a 
fight  he  had  abandoned  so  valuable  a  position. 

The  country  through  which  we  now  passed 
was  virtually  uninhabited,  and  wild  and  rough, 
but  grandly  beautiful.  At  no  time,  except  when 
we  passed  through  one  of  the  dusty  little  villages, 
of  a  dozen  sun-baked  huts  set  around  a  sun 
baked  plaza,  was  the  trail  sufficiently  wide  to  per 
mit  us  to  advance  unless  in  single  file.  And  yet 
this  was  the  highway  of  Honduras  from  the 
Caribbean  Sea  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  only 

148 


Captain  Macklin 

road  to  Tegucigalpa,  the  objective  point  of  our 
expedition.  The  capital  lay  only  one  hundred 
miles  from  Porto  Cortez,  but  owing  to  the  nat 
ure  of  this  trail  it  could  not  be  reached  from  the 
east  coast,  either  on  foot  or  by  mule,  in  less  than 
from  six  to  nine  days.  No  wheeled  vehicle  could 
have  possibly  attempted  the  trip  without  shaking 
to  pieces,  and  it  was  only  by  dragging  and  lifting 
our  Gatling  guns  by  hand  that  we  were  able  to 
bring  them  with  us. 

At  sunset  we  halted  at  a  little  village,  where, 
as  usual,  the  people  yelled  "  Vivas  !  "  at  us,  and 
protested  that  they  were  good  revolutionists.  The 
moon  had  just  risen,  and,  as  the  men  rode  for 
ward,  kicking  up  the  white  dust  and  with  the 
Gatlings  clanking  and  rumbling  behind  them, 
they  gave  a  most  war-like  impression.  Miller, 
who  had  reconnoitred  the  village  before  we  en 
tered  it,  stood  watching  us  as  we  came  in.  He 
said  that  we  reminded  him  of  troops  of  United 
States  cavalry  as  he  had  seen  them  on  the  alkali 
plains  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  It  was 
again  my  duty  to  station  our  pickets  and  out 
posts,  and  as  I  came  back  after  placing  the  sen 
tries,  the  fires  were  twinkling  all  over  the  plaza 
and  throwing  grotesque  shadows  of  the  men  and 
the  mules  against  the  white  walls  of  the  houses, 
It  was  a  most  weird  and  impressive  picture. 

149 


Captain  Macklin 

The  troopers  were  exhausted  with  the  forced 
march,  and  fell  instantly  to  sleep,  but  for  a  long 
time  I  sat  outside  the  Town  Hall  talking  with 
General  Laguerre  and  two  of  the  Americans, 
Miller  and  old  man  Webster.  Their  talk  was 
about  Aiken,  who  so  far  had  accompanied  us  as 
an  untried  prisoner.  From  what  he  had  said  to 
me  on  the  march,  and  from  what  I  remembered 
of  his  manner  when  Captain  "Leeds  informed  him 
of  the  loss  of  the  guns,  I  was  convinced  that  he 
was  innocent  of  any  treachery. 

I  related  to  the  others  just  what  had  occurred 
at  the  coast,  and  after  some  talk  with  Aiken  him 
self,  Laguerre  finally  agreed  that  he  was  inno 
cent  of  any  evil  against  him,  and  that  Quay  was 
the  man  who  had  sold  the  secret.  Laguerre 
then  offered  Aiken  his  choice  of  continuing  on 
with  us,  or  of  returning  to  the  coast,  and  Aiken 
said  that  he  would  prefer  to  go  on  with  our  col 
umn.  Now  that  the  Isthmian  Line  knew  that  he 
had  tried  to  assist  Laguerre,  his  usefulness  at 
the  coast  was  at  an  end.  He  added  frankly  that 
his  only  other  reason  for  staying  with  us  was  be 
cause  he  thought  we  were  going  to  win.  .General 
Laguerre  gave  him  charge  of  our  transport  and 
commissary,  that  is  of  our  twelve  pack-mules  and 
of  the  disposition  of  the  coffee,  flour,  and  beans. 
Aiken  possessed  real  executive  ability,  and  it  is 

150 


Captain  Macklin 

only  fair  to  him  to  say  that  as  commissary  ser 
geant  he  served  us  well.  By  the  time  we  had 
reached  Tegucigalpa  the  twelve  mules  had  in 
creased  to  twenty,  and  our  stock  of  rations,  in 
stead  of  diminishing  as  we  consumed  them,  in 
creased  daily.  We  never  asked  how  he  managed 
it.  Possibly,  knowing  Aiken,  it  was  wiser  not  to 
inquire. 

We  broke  camp  at  four  in  the  morning,  but  in 
spite  of  our  early  start  the  next  day's  advance 
was  marked  by  the  most  cruel  heat.  We  had  left 
the  shade  of  the  high  lands  and  now  pushed  on 
over  a  plain  of  dry,  burning  sand,  where  nothing 
grew  but  naked  bushes  bristling  with  thorns,  and 
tall  grayish-green  cacti  with  disjointed  branching 
arms.  They  stretched  out  before  us  against  the 
blazing  sky,  like  a  succession  of  fantastic  tele 
graph-poles.  We  were  marching  over  what  had 
once  been  the  bed  of  a  great  lake.  Layers  of  tiny 
round  pebbles  rolled  under  our  feet,  and  the  rocks 
which  rose  out  of  the  sand  had  been  worn  and 
polished  by  the  water  until  they  were  as  smooth 
as  the  steps  of  a  cathedral.  A  mile  away  on  each 
flank  were  dark  green  ridges,  but  ahead  of  us 
there  was  only  a  great  stretch  of  glaring  white 
sand.  No  wind  was  stirring,  and  not  a  drop  of 
moisture.  The  air  was  like  a  breath  from  a  brick 
oven,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  so  fierce  that  if  you 


Captain  Macklin 

touched  your  fingers  to  a  gun-barrel  it  burned 
the  flesh. 

We  did  not  escape  out  of  this  lime-kiln  until 
three  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  trail  again  led  us 
into  the  protecting  shade  of  the  jungle.  The 
men  plunged  into  it  as  eagerly  as  though  they 
were  diving  into  water. 

About  four  o'clock  we  heard  great  cheering 
ahead  of  us,  and  word  was  passed  to  the  rear  that 
Miller  had  come  in  touch  with  Garcia's  scouts. 
A  half  hour  later,  we  marched  into  the  camp  of 
the  revolutionists.  It  was  situated  about  three 
miles  outside  of  Santa  Barbara,  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  where  the  trail  crossed  it  at  a  ford.  Our 
fellows  made  a  rather  fine  appearance  as  they  rode 
out  of  the  jungle  among  the  revolutionists ;  and, 
considering  the  fact  that  we  had  come  to  fight  for 
them,  I  thought  the  little  beggars  might  have 
given  us  a  cheer,  but  they  only  stared  at  us,  and 
nodded  stupidly.  They  were  a  mixed  assortment, 
all  of  them  under-size  and  either  broad  or  swarthy, 
with  the  straight  hair  and  wide  cheek-bones  of 
the  Carib  Indian,  or  slight  and  nervous  looking, 
with  the  soft  eyes  and  sharp  profile  of  the  Span 
iard.  The  greater  part  of  them  had  deserted  in 
companies  from  the  army,  and  they  still  wore  the 
blue-jean  uniform  and  carried  the  rifle  and  ac 
coutrements  of  the  Government.  To  distinguish 

152 


Captain  Macklin 

themselves  from  those  soldiers  who  had  remained 
with  Alvarez,  they  had  torn  off  the  red  braid 
with  which  their  tunics  were  embroidered. 

All  the  officers  of  the  Foreign  Legion  rode  up 
the  stream  with  Laguerre  to  meet  General  Gar 
cia,  whom  we  found  sitting  in  the  shade  of  his 
tent  surrounded  by  his  staff.  He  gave  us  a  most 
entnusiastic  greeting,  embracing  the  General,  and 
shaking  hands  with  each  of  us  in  turn.  He 
seemed  to  be  in  the  highest  state  of  excitement, 
and  bustled  about  ordering  us  things  to  drink, 
and  chattering,  gesticulating,  and  laughing.  He 
reminded  me  of  a  little,  fat  French  poodle  trying 
to  express  his  delight  by  bounds  and  barks. 
They  brought  us  out  a  great  many  bottles  of 
rum  and  limes,  and  we  all  had  a  long,  deep  drink. 
After  the  fatigue  and  dust  of  the  day,  it  was  the 
best  I  ever  tasted.  Garcia's  officers  seemed  just 
as  much  excited  over  nothing  as  he  was,  but  were 
exceedingly  friendly,  treating  us  with  an  exagger 
ated  "  comrades-in-arms  "  and  "  brother-officers  " 
sort  of  manner.  The  young  man  who  entertained 
me  was  quite  a  swell,  with  a  tortoise-shell  visor 
to  his  cap  and  a  Malacca  sword-cane  which  swung 
from  -a.  gold  cord.  He  was  as  much  pleased  over 
it  as  a  boy  with  his  first  watch,  and  informed  me 
that  it  had  been  used  to  assassinate  his  uncle,  ex- 
President  Rojas.  As  he  seemed  to  consider  it  a 

153 


Captain  Macklin 

very  valuable  heirloom,  I  moved  my  legs  so  that, 
as  though  by  accident,  my  sword  fell  forward 
where  he  could  see  it.  When  he  did  he  ex 
claimed  upon  its  magnificence,  and  I  showed  him 
my  name  on  the  scabbard.  He  thought  it  had 
been  presented  to  me  for  bravery.  He  was  very 
much  impressed. 

Garcia  and  Laguerre  talked  together  for  a 
long  time  and  then  shook  hands  warmly,  and  we 
all  saluted  and  returned  to  the  ford. 

As  soon  as  we  had  reached  it  Laguerre  seated 
himself  under  a  tree  and  sent  for  all  of  his  offi 
cers. 

"  We  are  to  attack  at  daybreak  to-morrow 
morning,"  he  said.  "  Garcia  is  to  return  along 
the  trail  and  make  a  demonstration  on  this  side 
of  the  town,  while  we  are  here  to  attack  from  the 
other.  The  plaza  is  about  three  hundred  yards 
from  where  we  will  enter.  On  the  corner  of  the 
plaza  and  the  main  street  there  is  a  large  ware 
house.  The  warehouse  looks  across  the  plaza  to 
the  barracks,  which  are  on  the  other  side  of  the 
square.  General  Garcia's  plan  is  that  our  objective 
point  shall  be  this  warehouse.  It  has  two  stories, 
and  men  on  its  roof  will  have  a  great  advantage 
over  those  in  the  barracks  and  in  the  streets. 
He  believes  that  when  he  begins  his  attack  from 
this  side,  the  Government  troops  will  rush  from 


Captain  Macklin 

the  barracks  and  hasten  toward  the  sound  of  the 
firing.  At  the  same  signal  we  are  to  hurry  in 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  town,  seize  the 
warehouse,  and  throw  up  barricades  across  the 
plaza.  Should  this  plan  succeed,  the  Govern 
ment  troops  will  find  themselves  shut  in  between 
two  fires.  It  seems  to  be  a  good  plan,  and  I 
have  agreed  to  it.  The  cattle-path  to  the  town  is 
much  too  rough  for  our  guns,  so  Captain  Heinze 
and  the  gun  detail  will  remain  here  and  co-op 
erate  with  General  Garcia.  Let  your  men  get 
all  the  sleep  they  can  now.  They  must  march 
again  at  midnight.  They  will  carry  nothing  but 
their  guns  and  ammunition  and  rations  for  one 
meal.  If  everything  goes  as  we  expect,  we  will 
breakfast  in  Santa  Barbara." 

I  like  to  remember  the  happiness  I  got  out  of 
the  excitement  of  that  moment.  I  lived  at  the 
rate  of  an  hour  a  minute,  and  I  was  as  upset 
from  pure  delight  as  though  I  had  been  in  a  funk 
of  abject  terror.  And  I  was  scared  in  a  way,  too, 
for  whenever  I  remembered  I  knew  nothing  of 
actual  fighting,  and  of  what  chances  there  were 
to  make  mistakes,  I  shivered  down  to  my  heels. 
But  I  would  not  let  myself  think  of  the  chances 
to  make  a  failure,  but  rather  of  the  opportunities 
of  doing  something  distinguished  and  of  making 
myself  conspicuous.  I  laughed  when  I  thought 

155 


Captain  Macklin 

of  my  classmates  at  the  Point  with  their  eyes  bent 
on  a  book  of  tactics,  while  here  was  I,  within 
three  hours  of  a  real  battle,  of  the  most  exciting 
of  all  engagements,  an  attack  upon  a  city.  A  full 
year,  perhaps  many  years,  would  pass  before  they 
would  get  the  chance  to  hear  a  hostile  shot,  the 
shot  fired  in  anger,  which  every  soldier  must  first 
hear  before  he  can  enter  upon  his  inheritance,  and 
hold  his  own  in  the  talk  of  the  mess-table.  I 
felt  almost  sorry  for  them  when  I  thought  how 
they  would  envy  me  when  they  read  of  the  fight 
in  the  newspapers.  I  decided  it  would  be  called 
the  battle  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  I  imagined  how 
it  would  look  in  the  head-lines.  I  was  even 
generous  enough  to  wish  that  three  or  four  of  the 
cadets  were  with  me ;  that  is,  of  course,  under 
me,  so  that  they  could  tell  afterward  how  well  I 
had  led  them. 

At  midnight  we  filed  silently  out  of  camp,  and 
felt  our  way  in  the  dark  through  the  worst  stretch 
of  country  we  had  yet  encountered.  The  ferns 
rose  above  our  hips,  and  the  rocks  and  fallen  logs 
over  which  we  stumbled  were  slippery  with  moss. 
Every  minute  a  man  was  thrown  by  a  trailing 
vine  or  would  plunge  over  a  fallen  tree-trunk, 
and  there  would  be  a  yell  of  disgust  and  an  oath 
and  a  rattle  of  accoutrements.  The  men  would 
certainly  have  been  lost  if  they  had  not  kept  in 

156 


Captain  Macklin 

touch  by  calling  to  one  another,  and  the  noise 
we  made  hissing  at  them  for  silence  only  added  to 
the  uproar. 

At  the  end  of  three  hours  our  guides  informed 
us  that  for  the  last  half-mile  they  had  been  guess 
ing  at  the  trail,  and  that  they  had  now  completely 
lost  themselves.  So  Laguerre  sent  out  Miller 
and  the  native  scouts  to  buskey  about  and  find 
out  where  we  were,  and  almost  immediately  we 
heard  the  welcome  barking  of  a  dog,  and  one  of 
the  men  returned  to  report  that  we  had  walked 
right  into  the  town.  We  found  that  the  first 
huts  were  not  a  hundred  yards  distant.  La 
guerre  accordingly  ordered  the  men  to  conceal 
themselves  and  sent  Miller,  one  of  Garcia's  offi 
cers,  and  myself  to  reconnoitre. 

The  moonlight  had  given  way  to  the  faint  gray 
light  which  comes  just  before  dawn,  and  by  it  we 
could  distinguish  lumps  of  blackness  which  as  we 
approached  turned  into  the  thatched  huts  of  the 
villagers.  Until  we  found  the  main  trail  into 
the  town  we  kept  close  to  the  bamboo  fences  of 
these  huts,  and  then,  still  keeping  in  the  shadows, 
we  followed  the  trail  until  it  turned  into  a  broad 
and  well-paved  street. 

Except  for  many  mongrel  dogs  that  attacked 
us,  and  the  roosters  that  began  to  challenge  us 
from  every  garden,  we  had  not  been  observed, 


Captain  Macklin 

and,  so  far  as  we  could  distinguish,  the  approach 
to  the  town  was  totally  unprotected.  By  this 
time  the  light  had  increased  sufficiently  for  us  to 
see  the  white  fronts  of  the  houses,  and  the  long 
empty  street,  where  rows  of  oil-lamps  were  sput 
tering  and  flickering,  and  as  they  went  out,  filling 
the  clean,  morning  air  with  the  fumes  of  the  dy 
ing  wicks.  It  had  been  only  two  weeks  since  I 
had  seen  paved  streets,  and  shops,  and  lamp-posts, 
but  I  had  been  sleeping  long  enough  in  the  open 
to  make  the  little  town  of  Santa  Barbara  appear 
to  me  like  a  modern  and  well-appointed  city. 
Viewed  as  I  now  saw  it,  our  purpose  to  seize  it 
appeared  credulous  and  grotesque.  I  could  not 
believe  that  we  contemplated  such  a  piece  of 
folly.  But  the  native  officer  pointed  down  the 
street  toward  a  square  building  with  overhanging 
balconies.  In  the  morning  mist  the  warehouse 
loomed  up  above  its  fellows  of  one  story  like  an 
impregnable  fortress. 

Miller  purred  with  satisfaction. 

"  That's  the  place,"  he  whispered  ;  "  I  remem 
ber  it  now.  If  we  can  get  into  it,  they  can  never 
get  us  out."  It  seemed  to  me  somewhat  like 
burglary,  but  I  nodded  in  assent,  and  we  ran 
back  through  the  outskirts  to  where  Laguerre 
was  awaiting  us.  We  reported  that  there  were 
no  pickets  guarding  our  side  of  the  town,  and 

158 


Captain  Macklin 

the  building  Garcia  had  designated  for  defence 
seemed  to  us  most  admirably  selected. 

It  was  now  near  to  the  time  set  for  the  attack 
to  begin,  and  Laguerre  called  the  men  together, 
and,  as  was  his  custom,  explained  to  them  what 
he  was  going  to  do.  He  ordered  that  when  we 
reached  the  warehouse  I  was  to  spread  out  my 
men  over  the  plaza  and  along  the  two  streets 
on  which  the  warehouse  stood.  Porter  was  to 
mount  at  once  to  the  roof  and  open  fire  on  the 
barracks,  and  the  men  of  B  and  C  Troops  were 
to  fortify  the  warehouse  and  erect  the  barricades. 

It  was  still  dark,  but  through  the  chinks  of  a 
few  of  the  mud  huts  we  could  see  the  red  glow 
of  a  fire,  and  were  warned  by  this  to  move  for 
ward  and  take  up  our  position  at  the  head  of  the 
main  street.  Before  we  advanced,  skirmishers 
were  sent  out  to  restrain  any  of  the  people  in  the 
huts  who  might  attempt  to  arouse  the  garrison. 
But  we  need  not  have  concerned  ourselves,  for 
those  of  the  natives  who  came  to  their  doors, 
yawning  and  shivering  in  the  cool  morning  air, 
shrank  back  at  the  sight  of  us,  and  held  up  their 
hands.  I  suppose,  as  we  crept  out  of  the  mist, 
we  were  a  somewhat  terrifying  spectacle,  but  I 
know  that  I  personally  felt  none  of  the  pride  of 
a  conquering  hero.  The  glimpse  I  had  caught 
of  the  sleeping  town,  peaceful  and  unconscious, 


Captain  Mack]  in 

and  the  stealth  and  silence  of  our  movements, 
depressed  me  greatly,  and  I  was  convinced  that  I 
had  either  perpetrated  or  was  about  to  perpetrate 
some  hideous  crime.  I  had  anticipated  excite 
ment  and  the  joy  of  danger,  instead  of  which,  as 
I  tiptoed  between  the  poor  gardens,  I  suffered  all 
the  quaking  terrors  of  a  chicken  thief. 

We  had  halted  behind  a  long  adobe  wall  to 
the  right  of  the  main  street,  und  as  we  crouched 
there  the  sun  rose  like  a  great  searchlight  and 
pointed  us  out,  and  exposed  us,  and  seemed  to 
hold  up  each  one  of  us  to  the  derision  of  Santa 
Barbara.  As  the  light  flooded  us  we  all  ducked 
our  heads  simultaneously,  and  looked  wildly 
about  us  as  though  seeking  for  some  place  to 
hide.  I  felt  as  though  I  had  been  caught  in  the 
open  street  in  my  night-gown.  It  was  impossi 
ble  to  justify  our  presence.  As  I  lay,  straining 
my  ears  for  Garcia's  signal,  I  wondered  what  we 
would  do  if  the  worthy  citizen  who  owned  the 
garden  wall,  against  which  we  lay  huddled,  should 
open  the  gate  and  ask  us  what  we  wanted.  Could 
we  reply  that  we,  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  pro 
posed  to  seize  and  occupy  his  city  ?  I  felt  sure 
he  would  tell  us  to  go  away  at  once  or  he  would 
call  the  police.  I  looked  at  the  men  near  me, 
and  saw  that  each  was  as  disturbed  as  myself.  A 
full  quarter  of  an  hour  had  passed  since  the  time 

1 60 


Captain  Macklin 

set  for  the  attack,  and  still  there  was  no  signal 
from  Garcia.  The  strain  was  becoming  intolera 
ble.  At  any  moment  some  servant,  rising  ear 
lier  than  his  fellows,  might  stumble  upon  us,  and 
in  his  surprise  sound  the  alarm.  Already  in  the 
trail  behind  us  a  number  of  natives,  on  their  way 
to  market,  had  been  halted  by  our  men,  who 
were  silently  waving  them  back  into  the  forest. 
The  town  was  beginning  to  stir,  wooden  shutters 
banged  against  stone  walls,  and  from  but  just 
around  the  corner  of  the  main  street  came  the 
clatter  of  iron  bars  as  they  fell  from  the  door  of 
a  shop.  We  could  hear  the  man  who  was  taking 
them  down  whistling  cheerily. 

And  then  from  the  barracks  came,  sharply  and 
clearly,  the  ringing  notes  of  the  reveille.  I 
jumped  to  my  feet  and  ran  to  where  Laguerre 
was  sitting  with  his  back  to  the  wall. 

"  General,  can't  I  begin  now? "  I  begged. 
"  You  said  D  Troop  was  to  go  in  first." 

He  shook  his  head  impatiently.  "  Listen  !  " 
he  commanded. 

We  heard  a  single  report,  but  so  faintly  and 
from  such  a  distance  that  had  it  not  instantly 
been  followed  by  two  more  we  could  not  have 
distinguished  it.  Even  then  we  were  not  certain. 
Then  as  we  crouched  listening,  each  reading  the 
face  of  the  others  and  no  one  venturing  to 

161 


Captain  Macklin 

breathe,  there  came  the  sharp,  broken  roll  of 
musketry.  It  was  unmistakable.  The  men 
gave  a  great  gasp  of  relief,  and  without  orders 
sprang  to  "  attention."  A  ripple  of  rifle-fire, 
wild  and  scattered,  answered  the  first  volley. 

"  They  have  engaged  the  pickets,"  said  La- 
guerre. 

The  volleys  were  followed  by  others,  and 
volleys,  more  uneven,  answered  them  still  more 
wildly. 

"They  are  driving  the  pickets  back,"  ex 
plained  Laguerre.  We  all  stood  looking  at 
him  as  though  he  were  describing  something 
which  he  actually  saw.  Suddenly  from  the  bar 
racks  came  the  discordant  calls  of  many  bugles, 
warning,  commanding,  beseeching. 

Laguerre  tossed  back  his  head,  like  a  horse 
that  has  been  too  tightly  curbed. 

<f  They  are  leaving  the  barracks,"  he  said. 
He  pulled  out  his  watch  and  stood  looking  down 
at  it  in  his  hand. 

"  I  will  give  them  three  minutes  to  get  under 
way,"  he  said.  "  Then  we  will  start  for  the  ware 
house.  When  they  come  back  again,  they  will 
find  us  waiting  for  them." 

It  seemed  an  hour  that  we  stood  there,  and 
during  every  second  of  that  hour  the  rifle-fire 
increased  in  fierceness  and  came  nearer,  and 

162 


Captain  Macklin 

seemed  to  make  another  instant  of  inaction  a 
crime.  The  men  were  listening  with  their 
mouths  wide  apart,  their  heads  cocked  on  one 
side,  and  their  eyes  staring.  They  tightened 
their  cartridge-belts  nervously,  and  opened  and 
shot  back  the  breech-bolts  of  their  rifles.  I  took 
out  my  revolver,  and  spun  the  cylinder  to  reas 
sure  myself  for  the  hundredth  time  that  it  was 
ready.  But  Laguerre  stood  quite  motionless, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  impassively  upon  his  watch  as 
though  he  were  a  physician  at  a  sick-bed.  Only 
once  did  he  raise  his  eyes.  It  was  when  the 
human  savageness  of  the  rifle-fire  was  broken  by 
a  low  mechanical  rattle,  like  the  whirr  of  a  mow 
ing-machine  as  one  hears  it  across  the  hay-fields. 
It  spanked  the  air  with  sharp  hot  reports. 

"  Heinze  has  turned  the  Gatlings  on  them,"  he 
said.  "  They  will  be  coming  back  soon."  He 
closed  the  lid  of  his  watch  with  a  click  and  nod 
ded  gravely  at  me.  "You  can  go  ahead  now, 
Captain,"  he  said.  His  tone  was  the  same  as 
though  he  had  asked  me  to  announce  dinner. 


IV 


I  JUMPED  toward  the  street  at  the  double, 
and  the  men  followed  me  crowded  in  a  bunch. 
I  shouted  back  at  them  to  spread  out,  and  they  fell 
apart.  As  I  turned  into  the  street  I  heard  a 
•shout  from  the  plaza  end  of  it  and  found  a  dozen 
soldiers  running  forward  to  meet  us.  When  they 
saw  the  troops  swing  around  the  corner,  they 
halted  and  some  took  cover  in  the  doorways,  and 
others  dropped  on  one  knee  in  the  open  street, 
and  fired  carefully.  I  heard  soft,  whispering 
sounds  stealing  by  my  head  with  incredible  slow 
ness,  and  I  knew  that  at  last  I  was  under  fire.  I 
no  longer  felt  like  a  boy  robbing  an  orchard,  nor 
a  burglar.  I  was  instead  grandly  excited  and 
happy,  and  yet  I  was  quite  calm  too.  I  am  sure 
of  this,  for  I  remember  I  calculated  the  distance 
between  us  and  the  warehouse,  and  compared  it 
with  the  two  hundred  and  twenty-yard  stretch  in 
an  athletic  park  at  home.  As  I  ran  I  noted  also 
everything  on  either  side  of  me :  two  girls  stand 
ing  behind  the  iron  bars  of  a  window  with  their 
hands  pressed  to  their  cheeks,  and  a  negro  with  a 
'broom  in  his  hand  crouching  in  a  doorway.  Some 

164 


Captain  Macklin 

of  the  men  stopped  running  and  halted  to  fire,, 
but  I  shouted  to  them  to  come  on.  I  was  sure 
if  we  continued  to  charge  we  could  frighten  off  the 
men  at  the  end  of  the  street,  and  I  guessed  rightly, 
for  as  we  kept  on  they  scattered  and  ran.  I  could 
hear  shouts  and  screams  rising  from  many  differ 
ent  houses,  and  men  and  women  scuttled  from 
one  side  of  the  street  to  the  other  like  frightened 
hens. 

As  we  passed  an  open  shop  some  men  inside 
opened  a  fusillade  on  me,  and  over  my  shoulder  I 
just  caught  a  glimpse  of  one  of  them  as  he  dropped 
back  behind  the  counter.  I  shouted  to  Von 
Ritter,  who  was  racing  with  me,  to  look  after 
them,  and  saw  him  and  a  half-dozen  others  swerve 
suddenly  and  sweep  into  the  shop.  Porter's  men 
were  just  behind  mine  and  the  noise  our  boots 
made  pounding  on  the  cobblestones  sounded  like 
a  stampede  of  cattle. 

The  plaza  was  an  unshaded  square  of  dusty 
grass.  In  the  centre  was  a  circular  fountain, 
choked  with  dirt  and  dead  leaves,  and  down  the 
p«ths  which  led  to  it  were  solid  stone  benches.  I 
told  the  men  to  take  cover  inside  the  fountain, 
and  about  a  dozen  of  them  dropped  behind  the 
rim  of  it,  facing  toward  the  barracks.  I  heard 
Porter  give  a  loud  "  hurrah ! "  at  finding  the 
doors  of  the  warehouse  open,  and  it  seemed  al- 

165 


Captain  Macklin 


.nost  instantly  that  the  men  of  his  troop  began 
to  fire  over  our  heads  from  its  roof.  At  the  first 
glance  it  was  difficult  to  tell  from  where  the  ene 
my's  fire  came,  but  I  soon  saw  smoke  floating 
from  the  cupola  of  the  church  on  the  corner  and 
drifting  through  the  barred  windows  of  the  bar 
racks.  I  shouted  at  the  men  behind  the  benches 
to  aim  at  the  cupola,  and  directed  those  with  me 
around  the  fountain  to  let  loose  at  the  barrack 
windows.  As  they  rose  to  fire  and  exposed 
themselves  above  the  rim  of  the  fountain  three  of 
them  were  hit,  and  fell  back  swearing.  The  men 
behind  the  benches  shouted  at  me  to  take  cover, 
and  one  of  the  wounded  men  in  the  fountain 
reached  up  and  pulled  at  my  tunic,  telling  me  to 
lie  down.  The  men  of  B  and  C  Troops  were 
rolling  casks  out  of  the  warehouse  and  building  a 
barricade,  and  I  saw  that  we  were  drawing  all  of 
the  fire  from  them.  We  were  now  in  a  cross-fire 
between  the  church  and  the  barracks,  and  were 
getting  very  much  the  worst  of  the  fight.  The 
men  in  the  barracks  were  only  seventy  yards 
away.  They  seemed  to  be  the  ones  chiefly  re 
sponsible.  They  had  piled  canvas  cots  against 
the  bars  of  the  windows,  and  though  these  afforded 
them  no  protection,  they  prevented  our  seeing 
anything  at  which  to  shoot. 

One   of  my   men   gave  a  grunt,  and  whirled 
1 66 


Captain  Macklin 

over,  holding  his  hand  to  his  shoulder.  "  I've 
got  it,  Captain,"  he  said.  I  heard  another  man 
shriek  from  behind  one  of  the  benches.  Our  po 
sition  was  becoming  impossible.  It  was  true  we 
were  drawing  the  fire  from  the  men  who  were 
working  on  the  barricade,  which  was  what  we  had 
been  sent  out  to  do,  but  in  three  minutes  I  had 
lost  five  men. 

I  remembered  a  professor  at  the  Point  telling 
us  the  proportion  of  bullets  that  went  home 
was  one  to  every  three  hundred,  and  I  wished 
I  had  him  behind  that  fountain.  Miller  was 
lying  at  my  feet  pumping  away  with  a  Win 
chester.  As  he  was  reloading  it  he  looked  up  at 
me,  and  shouted,  "  And  they  say  these  Central 
Americans  can't  shoot !"  I  saw  white  figures  ap 
pearing  and  disappearing  at  the  windows  of  almost 
every  house  on  the  plaza.  The  entire  popula 
tion  seemed  to  have  taken  up  arms  against  us. 
The  bullets  splashed  on  the  combing  of  the  foun 
tain  and  tore  up  the  grass  at  our  feet,  and  whistled 
and  whispered  about  our  ears.  It  seemed  utter 
idiocy  to  remain,  but  I  could  not  bring  myself  to 
run  back  to  the  barricade. 

In  the  confusion  which  had  ensued  in  the  bar 
racks  when  Garcia  opened  the  attack  the  men  who 
ran  out  to  meet  him  had  left  the  gates  of  the  bar 
rack  yard  open,  and  as  I  stood,  uncertain  what  to 

167 


Captain  Macklin 

do,  I  saw  a  soldier  pushing  them  together.  He 
had  just  closed  one  when  I  caught  sight  of  hir... 
I  fired  with  my  revolver,  and  shouted  to  the  rm  . 
"  We  must  get  inside  those  gates,"  I  cried.  "  \"  , 
can't  stay  here.  Charge  those  gates  !  "  I  pointed, 
and  they  all  jumped  from  every  part  of  the  plaza, 
and  we  raced  for  the  barrack  wall,  each  of  us  yell 
ing  as  we  ran.  A  half  dozen  of  us  reached  there 
in  time  to  throw  ourselves  against  the  gate  that 
was  just  closing,  and  the  next  instant  I  fell  sprawl 
ing  inside  the  barrack  yard. 

We  ran  straight  for  the  long  room  which  faced 
the  street,  and  as  we  came  in  at  one  end  of  it  the 
men  behind  the  cots  fired  a  frightened  volley  at 
us  and  fled  out  at  the  other.  In  less  than  two 
minutes  the  barracks  were  empty,  and  we  had 
changed  our  base  from  that  cock-pit  of  a  fountain 
to  a  regular  fortress  with  walls  two  feet  thick, 
with  rifles  stacked  in  every  corner,  and,  what  at 
that  moment  seemed  of  greatest  importance,  with 
a  breakfast  for  two  hundred  men  bubbling  and 
boiling  in  great  iron  pots  in  the  kitchen.  I  had 
never  felt  such  elation  and  relief  as  I  did  over 
that  bloodless  victory.  It  had  come  when  things 
looked  so  bad  ;  it  had  come  so  suddenly  and  easily 
that  while  some  of  the  men  cheered,  others  only 
laughed,  shaking  each  other's  hands  or  slapping 
each  other  on  the  back,  and  some  danced  about 

168 


And  the  next  instant  I  fell  sprawling  inside  the 
barrack  yard. 


Captain  Macklin 

like  children.  We  tore  the  cots  away  from  the 
windows  and  waved  at  the  men  behind  the  barri 
cade,  and  they  stood  up  and  cheered  us,  and  the 
men  on  the  roof,  looking  very  tall  against  the 
blue  sky,  stood  up  and  waved  their  hats  and 
cheered  too.  They  had  silenced  the  men  in  the 
cupola,  and  a  sudden  hush  fell  upon  the  plaza. 
It  was  easy  to  see  that  many  sympathizers  with 
the  government  had  been  shooting  at  us  from  the 
private  houses.  When  they  saw  us  take  the  bar 
racks  they  had  probably  decided  that  the  time 
had  come  to  wipe  off  the  powder-stains,  and  reap 
pear  as  friends  of  the  revolution.  The  only  firing 
now  was  from  where  Garcia  was  engaged.  Judg 
ing  from  the  loudness  of  these  volleys  he  had 
reached  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  I  set  half  of 
my  force  to  work  piling  up  bags  of  meal  behind 
the  iron  bars,  and,  in  the  event  of  fire,  filling  pails 
with  water,  and  breaking  what  little  glass  still  re 
mained  in  the  windows.  Others  I  sent  to  bring 
in  the  wounded,  and  still  others  to  serving  out 
the  coffee  and  soup  we  had  found  in  the  kitchen. 
After  giving  these  orders  I  ran  to  the  barricade 
to  report.  When  I  reached  it  the  men  behind  it 
began  to  rap  on  the  stones  with  the  butts  of  their 
rifles  as  people  pound  with  their  billiard-cues 
when  someone  has  made  a  difficult  shot,  and 
those  on  the  roof  leaned  over  and  clapped  their 

169 


Captain  Macklin 

hands.  It  was  most  unmilitary,  but  I  must  say 
I  was  pleased  by  it,  though  I  pretended  I  did  not 
know  what  they  meant. 

Laguerre  came  to  the  door  of  the  warehouse, 
and  smiled  at  me. 

"  I'm  glad  you're  still  alive,  sir,"  he  said. 
"  After  this,  when  you  get  within  seventy  yards 
of  the  enemy,  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  see  him 
without  standing  up." 

The  men  above  us  laughed,  and  I  felt  rather 
foolish,  and  muttered  something  about  "  setting 
an  example." 

"  If  you  get  yourself  shot,"  he  said,  "you  will 
be  setting  a  very  bad  example,  indeed.  We  can't 
spare  anybody,  Captain,  and  certainly  not  you."  I 
tried  to  look  as  modest  as  possible,  but  I  could 
not  refrain  from  glancing  around  to  see  if  the 
men  had  heard  him,  and  I  observed  with  satis 
faction  that  they  had. 

Laguerre  asked  me  if  I  could  hold  the  bar 
racks,  and  I  told  him  that  I  thought  I  could. 
He  then  ordered  me  to  remain  there. 

"  Would  you  like  a  cup  of  coffee,  General  ?  "  I 
asked.  The  General's  expression  changed  swiftly. 
It  became  that  of  a  very  human  and  a  very 
hungry  man. 

"  Have  you  got  any  ?  "  he  demanded  anxiously. 

"  If  you  can  lend  me  some  men,"  I  said,  "  I 
170 


Captain  Macklin 

can  send  you  back  eight  gallons."  At  this  the 
men  behind  the  barricades  gave  a  great  cheer  of 
delight,  and  the  General  smiled  and  patted  me  on 
the  shoulder. 

"  That  is  right,"  he  said.  "  The  best  kind  of 
courage  often  comes  from  a  full  stomach.  Run 
along  now,"  he  added,  as  though  he  were  talking 
to  a  child,  "  run  along,  and  don't  fire  until  we  do, 
and  send  us  that  coffee  before  we  get  to  work 
again." 

I  called  in  all  of  my  men  from  the  side  streets, 
and  led  them  across  to  the  barracks.  I  placed 
some  of  them  on  the  roof  and  some  of  them  on 
tables  set  against  the  inside  of  the  wall  in  the 
yard. 

As  I  did  so,  I  saw  Porter  run  across  the  plaza 
with  about  fifty  of  his  men,  and  almost  imme 
diately  after  they  had  disappeared  we  heard  cheer 
ing,  and  he  returned  with  Captain  Heinze.  They 
both  ran  toward  General  Laguerre,  and  Porter 
then  came  across  to  me,  and  told  me  that  the 
government  troops  were  in  full  flight,  and  escap 
ing  down  the  side  streets  into  the  jungle.  They 
were  panic-stricken  and  were  scattering  in  every 
direction,  each  man  looking  after  his  own  safety. 
For  the  next  two  hours  I  chased  terrified  little 
soldiers  all  over  the  side  of  the  town  which  had 
been  assigned  me,  either  losing  them  at  the  edge 

171 


Captain  Macklin 

of  the  jungle,  or  dragging  them  out  of  shops  and 
private  houses.  No  one  was  hurt.  It  was  only 
necessary  to  fire  a  shot  after  them  to  see  them 
throw  up  their  hands.  By  nine  o'clock  I  had 
cleaned  up  my  side  of  the  town,  and  returned  to 
the  plaza.  It  was  now  so  choked  with  men  and 
mules  that  I  was  five  minutes  in  forcing  my  way 
across.  Garcia's  troops  had  marched  in,  and  were 
raising  a  great  hullabaloo,  cheering  and  shouting, 
and  embracing  the  townspeople,  whom  they  had 
known  during  their  former  occupation,  and  many 
of  whom  were  the  same  people  who  had  been 
firing  at  us.  I  found  Laguerre  in  counsel  with 
Garcia,  who  was  in  high  spirits,  and  feeling  ex 
ceedingly  pleased  with  himself.  He  entirely 
ignored  our  part  in  taking  the  town,  and  talked 
as  though  he  had  captured  it  single-handed.  The 
fact  that  the  government  troops  had  held  him 
back  until  we  threatened  them  in  the  rear  he  did 
not  consider  as  important.  I  resented  his  swagger 
and  the  way  he  patronized  Laguerre,  but  the 
General  did  not  seem  to  notice  it,  or  was  too  well 
satisfied  with  the  day's  work  to  care.  While  I 
was  at  head-quarters  our  scouts  came  in  to  report 
that  the  enemy  was  escaping  along  the  trail  to 
Comyagua,  and  that  two  of  their  guns  had  stalled 
in  the  mud,  not  one  mile  out  from  Santa  Barbara. 
This  was  great  news,  and  to  my  delight  I  was 

172 


Captain  Macklin 

among  those  who  hurried  out  to  the  place  where 
the  guns  were  supposed  to  be.  We  found  them 
abandoned  and  stuck  in  the  mud,  and  captured 
them  without  firing  a  shot.  A  half  hour  later  we 
paraded  our  prizes  in  a  triumphal  procession 
through  the  streets  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  were 
given  a  grand  welcome  by  the  allies  and  the 
townspeople.  I  had  never  witnessed  such  enthu 
siasm,  but  it  was  not  long  before  I  found  out  the 
cause  of  it.  In  our  absence  everybody  had  been 
celebrating  the  victory  with  aguardiente,  and  half 
of  Garcia's  warriors  had  become  so  hopelessly 
drunk  that  they  were  lying  all  over  the  plaza,  and 
their  comrades  were  dancing  and  tramping  upon 
them. 

I  found  that  this  orgy  had  put  Laguerre  in  a 
fine  rage,  and  I  heard  him  send  out  the  provost 
guard  with  orders  to  throw  all  the  drunken  men 
into  the  public  corral  for  lost  mules. 

When  he  learned  of  this  Garcia  was  equally 
indignant.  The  matter  ended  with  Laguerre's 
locking  up  Garcia's  soldiers  with  our  prisoners-of- 
war  in  the  yard  barracks,  where  they  sang  and 
shouted  and  fought  until  they  were  exhausted  and 
went  to  sleep. 

There  was  still  much  drink  left  on  requisition, 
but  the  conquering  heroes  had  taken  everything 
there  was  to  eat,  and  for  some  time  I  wandered 

i73 


Captain  Macklin 

around  seeking  for  food  before  I  finally  discov 
ered  Miller,  Von  Ritter,  and  Aiken  in  the  garden 
of  a  private  house  enjoying  a  most  magnificent 
luncheon.  I  begged  a  share  on  the  ground  that 
I  had  just  overcome  two  helpless  brass  cannon, 
and  they  gave  me  a  noisy  welcome,  and  made  a 
place  for  me.  I  was  just  as  happy  as  I  was  hun 
gry,  and  I  was  delighted  to  find  someone  with 
whom  I  could  discuss  the  fight.  For  an  hour  we 
sat  laughing  and  drinking,  and  each  talking  at  the 
top  of  his  voice  and  all  at  the  same  time.  We 
were  as  elated  as  though  we  had  captured  the 
city  of  London. 

Of  course  Aiken  had  taken  no  part  in  the 
fight,  and  of  course  he  made  light  of  it,  which 
was  just  the  sort  of  thing  he  would  do,  and  he 
especially  poked  fun  at  me  and  at  my  charge  on 
the  barracks.  He  called  it  a  "  grand-stand  play," 
and  said  I  was  a  "  gallery  fighter."  He  said  the 
reason  I  ran  out  into  the  centre  of  the  plaza  was 
because  I  knew  there  was  a  number  of  women 
looking  out  of  the  windows,  and  he  pretended  to 
believe  that  when  we  entered  the  barracks  they 
were  empty,  and  that  I  knew  they  were  when  I 
ordered  the  charge. 

"  It  was  the  coffee  they  were  after,"  he  de 
clared.  "  As  soon  as  Macklin  smelt  the  coffee  he 
drew  his  big  gilt  sword  and  cried,  f  Up,  my  men, 


Captain  Macklin 

inside  yon  fortress  a  free  breakfast  awaits  us. 
Follow  your  gallant  leader ! '  and  they  never 
stopped  following  until  they  reached  the  kitchen. 
They're  going  to  make  Macklin  a  bugler,"  he 
said,  "  so  that  after  this  he  can  blow  his  own 
trumpet  without  anyone  being  allowed  to  inter 
rupt  him." 

I  was  glad  to  find  that  I  could  take  what  Aiken 
said  of  me  as  lightly  as  did  the  others.  Since  the 
fight  his  power  to  annoy  me  had  passed.  I  knew 
better  than  anyone  else  that  at  one  time  during 
the  morning  I  had  been  in  a  very  tight  place, 
but  I  had  stuck  to  it  and  won  out  The  knowl 
edge  that  I  had  done  so  gave  me  confidence  in 
myself — not  that  I  have  ever  greatly  lacked  it, 
but  it  was  a  new  kind  of  confidence.  It  made 
me  feel  older,  and  less  inclined  to  boast.  In  this 
it  also  helped  out  my  favorite  theory  that  it  must 
be  easy  for  the  man  who  has  done  something  to 
be  modest.  After  he  has  proved  himself  capable 
in  the  eyes  of  his  comrades  he  doesn't  have  to  go 
about  telling  them  how  good  he  is.  It  is  a  saying 
that  heroes  are  always  modest,  but  they  are  not 
really  modest.  They  just  keep  quiet,  because 
they  know  their  deeds  are  better  talkers  than 
they  are. 

Miller  and  I  had  despatched  an  orderly  to  in 
form  Laguerre  of  our  whereabouts,  and  at  three 


Captain  Macklin 

o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  man  returned  to  tell 
us  that  we  were  to  join  the  General  in  the  plaza. 
On  arriving  there  we  found  the  column  already 
drawn  up  in  the  order  of  march,  and  an  hour  later 
we  filed  out  of  the  town  down  the  same  street  by 
which  we  had  entered  it  that  morning,  and  were 
cheered  by  the  same  people  who  eight  hours 
before  had  been  firing  upon  us.  We  left  five 
hundred  of  Garcia's  men  to  garrison  the  place  and 
prevent  the  townspeople  from  again  changing 
their  sympathies,  and  continued  on  toward  Tegu 
cigalpa  with  Garcia  and  the  remainder  of  his  force 
as  our  main  body,  and  with  the  Legion  in  the 
van.  We  were  a  week  in  reaching  Comyagua, 
which  was  the  only  place  that  we  expected  would 
offer  any  resistance  until  we  arrived  outside  of  the 
capital.  During  that  week  our  march  was  ex 
actly  similar  to  the  one  we  had  made  from  the 
camp  to  Santa  Barbara.  There  was  the  same 
rough  trail,  the  jungle  crowding  close  on  either 
flank,  the  same  dusty  villages,  the  same  fierce 
heat.  At  the  villages  of  Tabla  Ve  and  at  Segu- 
atepec  our  scouts  surprised  the  rear  guard  of  the 
enemy  and  stampeded  it  without  much  difficulty, 
and  with  only  twenty  men  wounded.  As  usual 
we  had  no  one  to  thank  for  our  success  in  these 
skirmishes  but  ourselves,  as  Garcia's  men  never 
appeared  until  just  as  the  fight  was  over,  when 

176 


Captain   Macklin 

they  would  come  running  up  in  great  excitement. 
Laguerre  remarked  that  they  needed  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  bugle  calls,  as  they  evidently 
mistook  our  "  Cease  firing  "  for  "  Advance." 

The  best  part  of  that  week's  march  lay  in  the 
many  opportunities  it  gave  me  to  become  ac 
quainted  with  my  General.  The  more  I  was 
permitted  to  be  with  him  the  longer  I  wanted 
to  be  always  with  him,  and  with  no  one  else. 
After  listening  to  Laguerre  you  felt  that  a  talk 
with  the  other  men  was  a  waste  of  time.  There 
was  nothing  apparently  that  he  did  not  know  of 
men  and  events,  and  his  knowledge  did  not  come 
from  books,  but  at  first  hand,  from  contact  with 
the  men,  and  from  having  taken  part  in  the 
events. 

After  we  had  pitched  camp  for  the  night  the 
others  would  elect  me  to  go  to  his  tent,  and  ask 
if  we  could  come  over  and  pay  our  respects. 
They  always  selected  me  for  this  errand,  because 
they  said  it  was  easy  to  see  that  I  was  his  fa 
vorite. 

When  we  were  seated  about  him  on  the  rocks, 
or  on  ammunition  boxes,  or  on  the  ground,  I 
would  say,  "  Please,  General,  we  want  to  hear 
some  stories,"  and  he  would  smile  and  ask, 
"  What  sort  of  stories  ?  "  and  each  of  us  would 
ask  for  something  different.  Some  would  want 

177 


Captain  Macklin 

to  hear  about  the  Franco-Prussian  war,  and  others 
of  the  Fall  of  Plevna  or  Don  Carlos  or  Gari 
baldi,  or  of  the  Confederate  generals  with  whom 
Laguerre  had  fought  in  Egypt. 

When  the  others  had  said  good-night  he  would 
sometimes  call  me  back  on  the  pretence  of  giving 
me  instructions  for  the  morrow,  and  then  would 
come  the  really  wonderful  stories — the  stories 
that  no  historian  has  ever  told.  His  talk  was 
more  educational  than  a  library  of  histories,  and 
it  filled  me  with  a  desire  to  mix  with  great  people 
— to  be  their  companion  as  he  had  been,  to  have 
kings  and  pretenders  for  my  intimates.  When 
one  listened  it  sounded  easy  of  accomplishment. 
It  never  seemed  strange  to  him  that  great  rulers 
should  have  made  a  friend  of  a  stray  soldier  of 
fortune,  an  Irish  adventurer — for  Laguerre's 
mother  was  Irish ;  his  father  had  been  Colonel 
Laguerre,  and  once  Military  Governor  of  Al 
giers — and  given  him  their  confidence.  And  yet 
I  could  see  why  they  should  do  so,  for  just  the 
very  reason  that  he  took  their  confidence  as  a 
matter  of  course,  knowing  that  his  loyalty  would 
always  be  above  suspicion.  He  had  a  great 
capacity  for  loyalty.  There  was  no  taint  in  it  of 
self-interest,  nor  of  snobbishness.  He  believed, 
for  instance,  in  the  divine  right  of  kings ;  and 
from  what  he  let  fall  we  could  see  that  he  had 

178 


Captain  Macklin 

given  the  most  remarkable  devotion  not  only  to 
every  cause  for  which  he  had  fought,  but  to  the 
individual  who  represented  it.  That  in  time 
each  of  these  individuals  had  disappointed  him 
had  in  no  way  shaken  his  faith  in  the  one  to  whom 
he  next  offered  his  sword.  His  was  a  most  beau 
tiful  example  of  modesty  and  of  faith  in  one's  fel- 
lowman.  It  was  during  this  week,  and  because  of 
these  midnight  talks  with  him  around  the  camp- 
fire,  that  I  came  to  look  up  to  him,  and  love 
him  like  a  son. 

But  during  that  same  week  I  was  annoyed  to 
find  that  many  of  our  men  believed  the  version 
which  Aiken  had  given  of  my  conduct  at  Santa 
Barbara.  There  were  all  sorts  of  stories  circulat 
ing  through  the  Legion  about  me.  They  made 
me  out  a  braggart,  a  bully,  and  a  conceited  ass — 
indeed,  almost  everything  unpleasant  was  said  of 
me  except  that  I  was  a  coward.  Aiken,  of  course, 
kindly  retold  these  stories  to  me,  either  with  the 
preface  that  he  thought  I  ought  to  know  what  was 
being  said  of  me,  or  that  he  thought  the  stories 
would  amuse  me.  I  thanked  him  and  pretended 
to  laugh,  but  I  felt  more  like  punching  his  head. 
People  who  say  that  women  are  gossips,  and  that 
they  delight  in  tearing  each  other  to  pieces,  ought 
to  hear  the  talk  of  big,  broad-shouldered  men 
around  camp  -  fires.  If  you  believe  what  they 

179 


Captain  Macklin 

say,  you  would  think  that  every  officer  had  either 
bungled  or  had  funked  the  fight.  And  when  a 
man  really  has  performed  some  act  which  cannot 
be  denied  they  call  him  a  "  swipe,"  and  say  he 
did  it  to  gain  promotion,  or  to  curry  favor  with 
the  General.  Of  course,  it  may  be  different  in 
armies  officered  by  gentlemen ;  but  men  are 
pretty  much  alike  all  the  world  over,  and  I  know 
that  those  in  our  Legion  were  as  given  to  gossip 
and  slander  as  the  inmates  of  any  Old  Woman's 
Home.  I  used  to  say  to  myself  that  so  long  as 
I  had  the  approval  of  Laguerre  and  of  my  own 
men  and  of  my  conscience  I  could  afford  not  to 
mind  what  the  little  souls  said ;  but  as  a  matter 
of  fact  I  did  mind  it,  and  it  angered  me  exceed 
ingly.  Just  as  it  hurt  me  at  the  Point  to  see 
that  I  was  not  popular,  it  distressed  me  to  find 
that  the  same  unpopularity  had  followed  me  into 
the  Legion.  The  truth  is  that  the  officers  were 
jealous  of  me.  They  envied  me  my  place  as 
Adjutant,  and  they  were  angry  because  La 
guerre  assigned  one  so  much  younger  than 
themselves  to  all  the  most  important  duties. 
They  said  that  by  showing  favoritism  he  was 
weakening  his  influence  with  the  men  and  that  he 
made  a  "  pet  "  of  me.  If  he  did  I  know  that  he 
also  worked  me  five  times  as  hard  as  anyone  else, 
and  that  he  sent  me  into  places  where  no  one  but 

1 80 


Captain  Macklin 

himself  would  go.  The  other  officers  had  really 
no  reason  to  object  to  me  personally.  I  gave 
them  very  little  of  my  company,  and  though  I 
spoke  pleasantly  when  we  met  I  did  not  associ 
ate  with  them.  Miller  and  Von  Ritter  were  al 
ways  abusing  me  for  not  trying  to  make  friends  ; 
but  I  told  them  that,  since  the  other  officers  spoke 
of  me  behind  my  back  as  a  cad,  braggart,  and 
snob,  the  least  I  could  do  was  to  keep  out  of 
their  way. 

I  was  even  more  unpopular  with  the  men,  but 
there  was  a  reason  for  that ;  for  I  was  rather  severe 
with  them,  and  imposed  as  strict  a  discipline  on 
them  as  that  to  which  I  had  been  accustomed  at 
West  Point.  The  greater  part  of  them  were  ne'er- 
do-wells  and  adventurers  picked  up  off  the  beach 
at  Greytown,  and  they  were  a  thoroughly  inde 
pendent  lot,  reckless  and  courageous  ;  but  I  doubt 
if  they  had  ever  known  authority  or  restraint,  un 
less  it  was  the  restraint  of  a  jail.  With  the  men 
of  my  own  troop  I  got  on  well  enough,  for  they 
saw  I  understood  how  to  take  care  of  them,  and 
that  things  went  on  more  smoothly  when  they 
were  carried  out  as  I  had  directed,  so  they  obeyed 
me  without  sulking.  But  with  the  men  of  the 
troops  not  directly  under  my  command  I  fre 
quently  met  with  trouble;  and  on  several  occasions 
different  men  refused  to  obey  my  orders  as  Ad- 

181 


Captain  Macklin 

jutant,  and  swore  and  even  struck  at  me,  so  that 
I  had  to  knock  them  down.  I  regretted  this  ex 
ceedingly,  but  I  was  forced  to  support  my  authority 
in  some  way.  After  learning  the  circumstances 
Laguerre  exonerated  me,  and  punished  the  men. 
Naturally,  this  did  not  help  me  with  the  volun 
teers,  and  for  the  first  ten  days  after  I  had  joined 
the  Legion  I  was  the  most  generally  disliked  man 
in  it.  This  lasted  until  we  reached  Comyagua, 
when  something  happened  which  brought  the  men 
over  to  my  side.  Indeed,  I  believe  I  became  a 
sort  of  a  hero  with  them,  and  was  nearly  as  popu 
lar  as  Laguerre  himself.  So  in  the  end  it  came 
out  all  right,  but  it  was  near  to  being  the  death  of 
me ;  and,  next  to  hanging,  the  meanest  kind  of  a 
death  a  man  could  suffer. 

When  this  incident  occurred,  which  came  so 
near  to  ending  tragically  for  me,  we  had  been  try 
ing  to  drive  the  government  troops  out  of  the 
cathedral  of  Comyagua.  It  was  really  a  church 
and  not  a  cathedral,  but  it  was  so  much  larger 
than  any  other  building  we  had  seen  in  Honduras 
that  the  men  called  it  "  The  Cathedral."  It  occu 
pied  one  whole  side  of  the  plaza.  There  were 
four  open  towers  at  each  corner,  and  the  front 
entrance  was  as  large  as  a  barn.  Their  cannon, 
behind  a  barricade  of  paving  stones,  were  on  the 
steps  which  led  to  this  door. 

182 


Captain  Macklin 

I  carried  a  message  from  Laguerre  along  the 
end  of  the  plaza  opposite  the  cathedral,  and  as  I 
was  returning,  the  fire  grew  so  hot  that  I  dropped 
on  my  face.  There  was  a  wooden  watering-trough 
at  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk,  and  I  crawled  over 
and  lay  behind  it.  Directly  back  of  me  was  a 
restaurant  into  which  a  lot  of  Heinze's  men  had 
broken  their  way  from  the  rear.  They  were  firing 
up  at  the  men  in  the  towers  of  the  cathedral.  My 
position  was  not  a  pleasant  one,  for  every  time  I 
raised  my  head  the  soldiers  in  the  belfry  would  cut 
loose  at  me ;  and,  though  they  failed  to  hit  me, 
I  did  not  dare  to  get  up  and  run.  Already  the 
trough  was  leaking  like  a  sieve.  There  was  no 
officer  with  the  men  in  the  cafe,  so  they  were  tak 
ing  the  word  from  one  of  their  own  number,  and 
were  firing  regularly  in  volleys.  They  fired  three 
times  after  I  took  shelter.  They.were  so  near  me 
that  at  each  volley  I  could  hear  the  sweep  of  the 
bullets  passing  about  two  yards  above  my  head. 

But  at  the  fourth  volley  a  bullet  just  grazed 
my  cheek  and  drove  itself  into  the  wood  of  the 
trough.  It  was  so  near  that  the  splinters  flew  in 
my  eyes.  I  looked  back  over  my  shoulder  and 
shouted,  "  Look  out !  You  nearly  hit  me  then. 
Fire  higher." 

One  of  the  men  in  the  cafe  called  back,  "  We 
can't  hear  you,"  and  I  repeated,  "  Fire  higher ! 

183 


Captain  Macklin 

You  nearly  hit  me,"  and  pointed  with  my  finger 
to  where  the  big  44-calibre  ball  had  left  a  black 
hole  in  the  green  paint  of  the  trough.  When  they 
saw  this  there  were  excited  exclamations  from  the 
men,  and  I  heard  the  one  who  was  giving  the 
orders  repeating  my  warning.  And  then  came 
the  shock  of  another  volley.  Simultaneously  with 
the  shock  a  bullet  cut  through  the  wide  brim  of 
my  sombrero  and  passed  into  the  box  about  two 
inches  below  my  chin. 

It  was  only  then  that  I  understood  that  this 
was  no  accident,  but  that  someone  in  the  restau 
rant  was  trying  to  murder  me.  The  thought  was 
hideous  and  sickening.  I  could  bear  the  fire  of 
the  enemy  from  the  belfry — that  was  part  of  the 
day's  work ;  the  danger  of  it  only  excited  me  ;  but 
the  idea  that  one  of  my  own  side  was  lying  within 
twenty  feet  of  me,  deliberately  aiming  with  intent 
to  kill,  was  outrageous  and  revolting. 

I  scrambled  to  my  feet  and  faced  the  open  front 
of  the  restaurant,  and  as  I  stood  up  there  was,  on 
the  instant,  a  sharp  fusillade  from  the  belfry  tower. 
But  I  was  now  far  too  angry  to  consider  that. 
The  men  were  kneeling  just  inside  the  restaurant, 
and  as  I  halted  a  few  feet  from  them  I  stuck  my 
finger  through  the  bullet  hole  and  held  up  my 
hat  for  them  to  see. 

"  Look !  "  I  shouted  at  them.  "  You  did  that, 
184 


Captain  Macklin 


you  cowards.  You  want  to  murder  me,  do  you  ? "' 
I  straightened  myself  and  threw  out  my  arms, 
"  Well,  here's  your  chance,"  I  cried.  "  Don't 
shoot  me  in  the  back.  Shoot  me  now." 

The  men  gaped  at  me  in  utter  amazement. 
Their  lips  hung  apart.  Their  faces  were  drawn  in 
lines  of  anger,  confusion,  and  dislike. 

"  Go  on  !  "  I  shouted.  "  Fire  a  volley  at  that 
belfry,  and  let  the  man  who  wants  me  have  another 
chance  at  me.  I'll  give  the  word.  Make  ready ! " 
I  commanded. 

There  was  a  pause  and  a  chorus  of  protests,  and 
then  mechanically  each  man  jerked  out  the  empty 
shell  and  drove  the  next  cartridge  in  place= 
"Aim!"  I  shouted.  They  hesitated  and  then 
raised  their  pieces  in  a  wavering  line,  and  I  looked 
into  the  muzzles  of  a  dozen  rifles. 

"  Now  then — damn  you,"  I  cried.     "  Fire!  " 

They  fired,  and  my  eyes  and  nostrils  were  filled 
with  burning  smoke,  but  not  a  bullet  had  passed 
near  me. 

"  Again  !  "  I  shouted,  stamping  my  foot.  I  was 
so  angry  that  I  suppose  I  was  really  hardly  ac 
countable  for  what  I  did. 

"  I  told  you  you  were  cowards,"  I  cried.  "You 
can  only  shoot  men  in  the  back.  You  don't  like 
me,  don't  you?"  I  cried,  taunting  them.  "I'm 
a  braggart,  am  I  ?  Yes.  I'm  a  bully,  am  I  ?  Wella 

185 


Captain  Macklin 

here's  your  chance.  Get  rid  of  me  !  Once  again 
now.  Make  ready,"  I  commanded.  "  Aim ! 
Fire !  " 

Again  the  smoke  swept  up,  and  again  I  had 
escaped.  I  remember  that  I  laughed  at  them  and 
that  the  sound  was  crazy  and  hysterical,  and  I  re 
member  that  as  I  laughed  I  shook  out  my  arms 
to  show  them  I  was  unhurt.  And  as  I  did  that 
someone  in  the  cafe  cried,  "  Thank  God  !  "  And 
another  shouted,  "  That's  enough  of  this  damn 
nonsense,"  and  a  big  man  with  a  bushy  red  beard, 
sprang  up  and  pulled  off  his  hat. 

"  Now  then,"  he  cried.  "  All  together,  boys. 
Three  cheers  for  the  little  one ! "  and  they  all 
jumped  and  shouted  like  mad  people. 

They  cheered  me  again  and  again,  although  all 
the  time  the  bullets  from  the  belfry  were  striking 
about  them,  ringing  on  the  iron  tables  and  on  the 
sidewalk,  and  tearing  great  gashes  in  the  awnings 
overhead. 

And  then  it  seemed  as  though  the  sunlight  on 
the  yellow  buildings  and  on  the  yellow  earth  of 
the  plaza  had  been  suddenly  shut  off,  and  I 
dropped  into  a  well  of  blackness  and  sank  deeper 
and  deeper. 

When  I  looked  up  the  big  man  was  sitting  on  the 
floor  holding  me  as  comfortably  as  though  I  were 
a  baby,  and  my  face  was  resting  against  his  red 

186 


Captain  Macklin 

beard,  and  my  clothes  and  everything  about  me 
smelt  terribly  of  brandy. 

But  the  most  curious  thing  about  it  was  that 
though  they  told  everyone  in  the  Legion  that  I 
had  stood  up  and  made  them  shoot  at  me,  they 
never  let  anyone  find  out  that  I  had  been  so  weak 
as  to  faint. 

I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  the  brandy  they 
gave  me  that  later  led  me  to  charge  those  guns, 
but  I  appreciate  now  that  my  conduct  was  cer 
tainly  silly  and  mad  enough  to  be  excused  only 
in  that  way.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  chances 
I  should  have  lost  nine  lives,  and  according  to 
the  rules  governing  an  army  in  the  field  I  should 
have  been  court-martialled.  Instead  of  which, 
the  men  caught  me  up  on  their  shoulders  and 
carried  me  around  the  plaza,  and  Laguerre  and 
Garcia  looked  on  from  the  steps  of  the  Cathedral 
and  laughed  and  waved  to  us. 

For  five  hours  we  had  been  lying  in  the  blaz 
ing  sun  on  the  flat  house-tops,  or  hidden  in  the 
shops  around  the  plaza,  and  the  government 
troops  were  still  holding  us  off  with  one  hand 
and  spanking  us  with  the  other.  Their  guns 
were  so  good  that,  when  Heinze  attempted  to 
take  up  a  position  against  them  with  his  old- 
style  Gatlings,  they  swept  him  out  of  the  street, 
as  a  fire-hose  flushes  a  gutter.  For  five  hours 

187 


Captain  Macklin 

they  had  kept  the  plaza  empty,  and  peppered 
the  three  sides  of  it  so  warmly  that  no  one  of  us 
should  have  shown  his  head. 

But  at  every  shot  from  the  Cathedral  our  men 
grew  more  unmanageable,  and  the  longer  the 
enemy  held  us  back  the  more  arrogant  and  defi 
ant  they  became.  Ostensibly  to  obtain  a  better 
shot,  but  in  reality  from  pure  deviltry,  they  would 
make  individual  sallies  into  the  plaza,  and,  facing 
the  embrasure,  would  empty  their  Winchesters 
at  one  of  its  openings  as  coolly  as  though  they 
were  firing  at  a  painted  bull's-eye.  The  man 
who  first  did  this,  the  moment  his  rifle  was 
empty,  ran  for  cover  and  was  tumultuously 
cheered  by  his  hidden  audience.  But  in  order  to 
surpass  him,  the  next  man,  after  he  had  emptied 
his  gun,  walked  back  very  deliberately,  and  the 
third  man  remained  to  refill  his  magazine.  And 
so  a  spirit  of  the  most  senseless  rivalry  sprang 
up,  and  one  man  after  another  darted  out  into 
the  plaza  to  cap  the  recklessness  of  those  who 
had  gone  before  him. 

It  was  not  until  five  men  were  shot  dead  and 
lay  sprawling  and  uncovered  in  the  sun  that  the 
madness  seemed  to  pass.  But  my  charging  the 
embrasure  was  always  supposed  to  be  a  part  of 
it,  and  to  nave  been  inspired  entirely  by  vanity 
and  a  desire  to  do  something  more  extravagantly 

1 88 


Captain  Macklin 

reckless  than  any  of  the  others.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  I  acted  on  what  has  always  seemed  to  me  ex 
cellent  reasoning,  and  if  I  went  alone,  it  was  only 
because,  having  started,  it  seemed  safer  to  go 
ahead  than  to  run  all  the  way  back  again.  I  never 
blamed  the  men  for  running  back,  and  so  I  can 
not  see  why  they  should  blame  me  for  having 
gone  ahead. 

The  enemy  had  ceased  firing  shrapnel  and 
were  using  solid  shot.  When  their  Gatlings  also 
ceased,  I  guessed  that  it  might  be  that  the  guns 
were  jammed.  If  I  were  right  and  if  one  avoided 
the  solid  shot  by  approaching  the  barricade  ob 
liquely,  there  was  no  danger  in  charging  the  bar 
ricade. 

I  told  my  troop  that  I  thought  the  guns  were 
out  of  order,  and  that  if  we  rushed  the  barricade 
we  could  take  it.  When  I  asked  for  volunteers, 
ten  men  came  forward  and  at  once,  without  ask 
ing  permission,  which  I  knew  I  could  not  get, 
we  charged  across  the  plaza. 

Both  sides  saw  us  at  the  same  instant,  and  the 
firing  was  so  fierce  that  the  men  with  me  thought 
the  Gatlings  had  reopened  on  us,  and  ran  for 
cover. 

That  left  me*  about  fifty  feet  from  the  barri 
cade,  and  as  it  seemed  a  toss-up  whichever  way  I 
went  I  kept  going  forward.  I  caught  the  comk 

189 


Captain  Macklin 

ing  of  the  embrasure  with  my  hands,  stuck  my 
toes  between  the  stones,  and  scrambled  to  the 
top.  The  scene  inside  was  horrible.  The  place 
looked  like  a  slaughter-yard.  Only  three  men 
were  still  on  their  legs ;  the  rest  were  heaped 
around  the  guns.  I  threatened  the  three  men  with 
my  revolver,  but  they  shrieked  for  mercy  and 
I  did  not  fire.  The  men  in  the  belfries,  how 
ever,  were  showing  no  mercy  to  me,  so  I  dropped 
inside  the  wall  and  crawled  for  shelter  beneath 
a  caisson.  But  I  recognized  on  the  instant  that 
1  could  not  remain  there.  It  was  the  fear  of 
the  Gatlings  only  which  was  holding  back  our 
men,  and  I  felt  that  before  I  was  shot  they  must 
know  that  the  guns  were  jammed.  So  I  again 
scrambled  up  to  the  barricade,  and  waved  my  hat 
to  them  to  come  on.  At  the  same  moment  a 
bullet  passed  through  my  shoulder,  and  another 
burned  my  neck,  and  one  of  the  men  who  had 
begged  for  mercy  beat  me  over  the  head  with 
his  sword.  I  went  down  like  a  bag  of  flour,  but 
before  my  eyes  closed  I  saw  our  fellows  pour 
ing  out  of  the  houses  and  sweeping  toward  me. 

About  an  hour  later,  when  Von  Ritter  had 
cleaned  the  hole  in  my  shoulder  and  plastered  my 
skull,  I  sallied  out  again,  and  at  sight  of  me  the 
men  gave  a  shout,  and  picked  me  up,  and,  cheer 
ing,  bore  me  around  the  plaza.  From  that  day 

190 


Captain  Macklin 

we  were  the  best  of  friends,  and  I  think  in  time 
they  grew  to  like  me. 

Two  days  later  we  pitched  camp  outside  of 
Tegucigalpa,  the  promised  city,  the  capital  of  the 
Republic. 

Our  points  of  attack  were  two :  a  stone  bridge 
which  joins  the  city  proper  with  the  suburbs,  and 
a  great  hill  of  rock  called  El  Pecachua.  This  hill 
either  guards  or  betrays  the  capital.  The  houses 
reach  almost  to  its  base  and  from  its  crest  one 
can  drop  a  shell  through  the  roof  of  any  one  of 
them.  Consequently,  when  we  arrived,  we  found 
its  approaches  strongly  entrenched  and  the  hill 
occupied  in  force  by  the  government  artillery* 
There  is  a  saying  in  Honduras,  which  has  been 
justified  by  countless  revolutions,  and  which  dates 
back  to  the  days  of  Morazan  the  Liberator,  that 
144  He  who  takes  Pecachua  sleeps  in  the  Pal 
ace." 

Garcia's  plan  was  for  two  days  to  bombard  the 
city,  and  if,  in  that  time,  Alvarez  had  not  sur 
rendered,  to  attack  El  Pecachua  by  night.  As 
usual,  the  work  was  so  divided  that  the  more 
dangerous  and  difficult  part  of  it  fell  to  the  For 
eign  Legion,  for  in  his  plan  Garcia  so  ordered  it 
that  Laguerre  should  storm  Pecachua,  while  he 
advanced  from  the  plain  and  attacked  the  city  at 
the  stone  bridge. 

191 


Captain  Macklin 

But  this  plan  was  never  carried  out,  and  after 
our  first  day  in  front  of  the  Capital,  General 
Garcia  never  again  gave  an  order  to  General  La- 
guerre. 

After  midnight  on  the  evening  of  that  first  day 
Aiken  came  to  the  hut  where  we  had  made  our 
head-quarters  and  demanded  to  see  the  General 
on  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  With  him,  look 
ing  very  uncertain  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  visit, 
were  all  the  officers  of  the  Legion. 

The  General  was  somewhat  surprised  and  some 
what  amused,  but  he  invited  us  to  enter.  When 
the  officers  had  lined  up  against  the  walls  he  said, 
"  As  a  rule,  I  call  my  own  councils  of  war,  but 
no  doubt  Mr.  Aiken  has  some  very  good  reason 
for  affording  me  the  pleasure  of  your  company. 
What  is  it,  Mr.  Aiken  ?  " 

Instead  of  answering  him,  Aiken  said,  with  as 
much  manner  as  that  of  General  Garcia  himself, 
•"  I  want  a  guard  put  outside  this  house,  and  I 
want  the  men  placed  far  enough  from  it  to  pre 
vent  their  hearing  what  I  say.'*  The  General 
nodded  at  me,  and  I  ordered  the  sentries  to 
move  farther  from  the  hut.  I  still  remember  the 
tableau  I  saw  when  I  re-entered  it,  the  row  of 
officers  leaning  against  the  mud  walls,  the  candles 
stuck  in  their  own  grease  on  the  table,  the  maps 
spread  over  it,  and  the  General  and  Aiken  facing 

192 


Captain  Macklin 

each  other  from  its  either  end.  It  looked  like  a 
drumhead  court-martial. 

When  I  had  shut  the  door  of  the  hut  Aiken 
spoke.  His  tone  was  one  of  calm  unconcern. 

"  I  have  just  come  from  the  Palace,"  he  said, 
"  where  I  have  been  having  a  talk  with  President 
Alvarez." 

No  one  made  a  sound,  nor  no  one  spoke,  but 
like  one  man  everyone  in  the  room  reached  for 
his  revolver.  It  was  a  most  enlightening  reve 
lation  of  our  confidence  in  Aiken.  Laguerre 
did  not  move.  He  was  looking  steadily  at 
Aiken  and  his  eyes  were  shining  like  two  arc 
lamps. 

"  By  whose  authority  ?  "  he  asked. 

We,  who  knew  every  tone  of  his  voice,  almost 
felt  sorry  for  Aiken. 

"  By  whose  authority,"  Laguerre  repeated, 
"  did  you  communicate  with  the  enemy  ?  " 

"  It  was  an  idea  of  my  own,"  Aiken  answered 
simply.  "  I  was  afraid  if  I  told  you  you  would 
interfere.  Oh  !  I'm  no  soldier,"  he  said.  He 
was  replying  to  the  look  in  Laguerre's  face. 
"  And  I  can  tell  you  that  there  are  other  ways  of 
doing  things  than  c  according  to  Hardie.'  Al 
varez's  officers  came  to  me  after  the  battle  of 
Comyagua.  They  expected  to  beat  you  there, 
and  when  you  chased  them  out  of  the  city  and 


Captain  Macklin 

started  for  the  Capital  they  thought  it  was  all  up 
with  them,  and  decided  to  make  terms." 

"  With  you  ?  "  said  Laguerre. 

Aiken  laughed  without  the  least  trace  of  resent 
ment,  and  nodded. 

"  Well,  you  give  a  dog  a  bad  name,'*  he  said; 
<£  and  it  sticks  to  him.  So,  they  came  to  me. 
I'm  no  grand-stand  fighter ;  I'm  not  a  fighter  at 
all.  I  think  fighting  is  silly.  You've  got  all  the 
young  men  you  want  to  stop  bullets  for  you, 
without  me.  They  like  it.  They  like  to  catch 
'em  in  their  teeth.  I  don't.  But  that's  not  say- 
mg  that  I'm  no  good.  You  know  the  old  gag  of 
the  lion  and  the  little  mousie,  and  how  the  mouse 
came  along  and  chewed  the  lion  out  of  the  net. 
Well,  that's  me.  I'm  no  lion  going c round  seek 
ing  whom  I  may  devour.'  I'm  just  a  sewer  rat. 
But  I  can  tell  you  all,"  he  cried,  slapping  the 
table  with  his  hand,  "  that,  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
little  mousie,  every  one  of  you  lions  would  have 
been  shot  against  a  stone  wall.  And  if  I  can't 
prove  it,  you  can  take  a  shot  at  me.  I've  been 
the  traitor.  I've  been  the  go-between  from  the 
first.  I  arranged  the  whole  thing.  The  Alvarez 
crowd  told  me  to  tell  Garcia  that  even  if  he  did 
succeed  in  getting  into  the  Palace  the  Isthmian 
Line  would  drive  him  out  of  it  in  a  week.  But 
that  if  he'd  go  away  from  the  country,  they'd  pay 

194 


Captain  Macklin 

him  fifty  thousand  pesos  and  a  pension.  He's 
got  the  Isthmian  Line's  promise  in  writing. 

"  This  joint  attack  he's  planned  for  Wednes 
day  night  is  a  fake.  He  doesn't  mean  to  fight. 
Nobody  means  to  fight  except  against  you.  Every 
soldier  and  every  gun  in  the  city  is  to  be  sent  out 
to  Pecachua  to  trap  you  into  an  ambush.  Na 
tives  who  pretend  to  have  deserted  from  Alvarez 
are  to  lead  you  into  it.  That  was  an  idea  of 
mine.  They  thought  it  was  very  clever.  Garcia 
is  to  make  a  pretence  of  attacking  the  bridge  and 
a  pretence  of  being  driven  back.  Then  messen 
gers  are  to  bring  word  that  the  Foreign  Legion 
has  been  cut  to  pieces  at  Pecachua,  and  he  is  to 
disband  his  army,  and  tell  every  man  to  look  out 
for  himself. 

"If  you  want  proofs  of  this,  I'll  furnish  them 
to  any  man  here  that  you'll  pick  out.  I  told  Al 
varez  that  one  of  your  officers  was  working  against 
you  with  me,  and  that  at  the  proper  time  I'd  pro 
duce  him.  Now,  you  choose  which  officer  that 
shall  be.  He  can  learn  for  himself  that  all  I'm 
telling  you  is  true.  But  that  will  take  time  ! " 
Aiken  cried,  as  Laguerre  made  a  movement  to 
interrupt  him.  "  And  if  you  want  to  get  out  of 
this  fix  alive,  you'd  better  believe  me,  and  start 
for  the  coast  at  once — now — to-night !  " 

Laguerre  laughed  and  sprang  to  his  feet.    His 


Captain  Macklin 

eyes  were  shining  and  the  color  had  rushed  to  his 
cheeks.  He  looked  like  a  young  man  masquerad 
ing  in  a  white  wig.  He  waved  his  hand  at  Aiken 
with  a  gesture  that  was  part  benediction  and  part 
salute. 

"  I  do  believe  you,"  he  cried,  "  and  thank  you, 
sir."  He  glanced  sharply  at  the  officers  around 
him  as  though  he  were  weighing  the  value  of  each. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  cried,  "  often  in  my  life  I 
have  been  prejudiced,  and  often  I  have  been  de 
ceived,  and  I  think  that  it  is  time  now  that  I 
acted  for  myself.  From  the  first,  the  burden  of 
this  expedition  has  been  carried  by  the  Foreign 
Legion.  I  know  that ;  you,  who  fought  the 
battles,  certainly  know  it.  We  invaded  Hondu 
ras  with  a  purpose.  We  came  to  obtain  for  the 
peons  the  debt  that  is  due  them  and  to  give  them 
liberty  and  free  government.  And  whether  our 
allies  run  away  or  betray  us,  that  purpose  is  still 
the  same." 

He  paused  as  though  for  the  first  time  it  had 
occurred  to  him  that  the  motives  of  the  others 
might  not  be  as  his  own. 

"  Am  I  right  ?  "  he  asked,  eagerly.  "  Are  you 
willing  to  carry  out  that  purpose  ?  "  he  demanded. 
"  Are  you  ready  to  follow  me  now,  to-night — 
not  to  the  coast" — he  shouted — "but  to  the 
Capital — to  the  top  of  Pecachua  ?  " 

196 


Captain  Macklin 

Old  man  Webster  jumped  in  front  of  us,  and 
shot  his  arm  into  the  air  as  though  it  held  a 
standard. 

"  We'll  follow  you  to  hell  and  back  again,"  he 
cried. 

I  would  not  have  believed  that  so  few  men  could 
have  made  so  much  noise.  We  yelled  and 
cheered  so  wildly  that  we  woke  the  camp.  We 
could  hear  the  men  running  down  the  road,  and 
the  sentries  calling  upon  them  to  halt.  The 
whole  Legion  was  awake  and  wondering.  Web 
ster  beat  us  into  silence  by  pounding  the  table 
with  his  fist. 

"  I  have  lived  in  this  country  for  forty  years," 
he  cried,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  Laguerre, 
"  and  you  are  the  first  white  man  I  have  known 
who  has  not  come  into  it,  either  flying  from  the 
law,  or  to  rob  and  despoil  it.  I  know  this  coun 
try.  I  know  all  of  Central  America,  and  it  is  a 
wonderful  country.  There  is  not  a  fruit  nor  a 
grain  nor  a  plant  that  you  cannot  dig  out  of  it 
with  your  bare  fingers.  It  has  great  forests,  great 
pasture-lands,  and  buried  treasures  of  silver  and 
iron  and  gold.  But  it  is  cursed  with  the  laziest 
of  God's  creatures,  and  the  men  who  rule  them 
are  the  most  corrupt  and  the  most  vicious.  They 
are  the  dogs  in  the  manger  among  rulers.  They 
will  do  nothing  to  help  their  own  country  ;  they 

197 


Captain  Macklin 

will  not  permit  others  to  help  it.  They  are  a 
menace  and  an  insult  to  civilization,  and  it  is  time 
that  they  stepped  down  and  out,  and  made  way 
for  their  betters,  or  that  they  were  kicked  out. 
One  strong  man,  if  he  is  an  honest  man,  can  con* 
quer  and  hold  Central  America.  William  Walker 
was  such  a  man.  I  was  with  him  when  he  ruled 
the  best  part  of  this  country  for  two  years.  He 
governed  all  Nicaragua  with  two  hundred  white 
men,  and  never  before  or  since  have  the  pueblo 
known  such  peace  and  justice  and  prosperity  as 
Walker  gave  them." 

Webster  threw  himself  across  the  table  and 
pointed  his  hand  at  Laguerre. 

"  And  you,  General  Laguerre !  *'  he  cried, 
"  and  you  ?  Do  you  see  your  duty  ?  You  say 
it  calls  you  to-night  to  El  Pecachua.  Then  if  it 
does,  it  calls  you  farther — to  the  Capital  1  There 
can  be  no  stopping  half-way  now,  no  turning 
back.  If  we  follow  you  to-night  to  Pecachua,  we 
follow  you  to  the  Palace." 

Webster's  voice  rose  antil  it  seemed  to  shake 
the  palm-leaf  roof.  He  was  like  a  man  pos 
sessed.  He  sprang  up  on  the  table,  and  from 
the  height  above  us  hurled  his  words  at  La 
guerre. 

"  We  are  not  fighting  for  any  half-breed  now,* 
he  cried ;  "  we  are  fighting  for  you.  We  knov? 

198 


Captain  Macklin 

you.  We  believe  in  you.  We  mean  to  make 
you  President,  and  we  will  not  stop  there.  Our 
motto  shall  be  Walker's  motto, '  Five  or  none,* 
and  when  we  have  taken  this  Republic  we  shall 
take  the  other  four,  and  you  will  be  President  of 
the  United  States  of  Central  America." 

We  had  been  standing  open-eyed,  open- 
mouthed,  every  nerve  trembling,  and  at  these 
words  we  shrieked  and  cheered,  but  Webster 
waved  at  us  with  an  angry  gesture  and  leaned 
toward  Laguerre. 

"  You  will  open  this  land,"  he  cried,  "  with 
roads  and  railways.  You  will  feed  the  world 
with  its  coffee.  You  will  cut  the  Nicaragua 
Canal.  And  you  will  found  an  empire — not  the 
empire  of  slaves  that  Walker  planned,  but  an 
empire  of  freed  men,  freed  by  you  from  their 
tyrants  and  from  themselves.  They  tell  me, 
General,"  he  cried,  tf  that  you  have  fought  under 
thirteen  flags.  To-night,  sir,  you  shall  fight 
under  your  own  !  " 

We  all  cheered  and  cheered  again,  the  oldest 
as  well  as  myself,  and  I  cheered  louder  than  any, 
until  I  looked  at  Laguerre.  Then  I  felt  how 
terribly  real  it  was  to  him.  Until  I  looked  at 
him  it  had  seemed  quite  sane  and  feasible.  But 
when  I  saw  how  deeply  he  was  moved,  and  that 
his  eyes  were  brimming  with  pride  and  resolve,  I 

199 


Captain  Macklin 


felt  that  it  was  a  mad  dream,  and  that  we  were 
wicked  not  to  wake  him.  For  I,  who  loved  him 
Hke  a  son,  understood  what  it  meant  to  him.  In 
his  talk  along  the  trail  and  by  the  camp-fire  he 
had  always  dreamed  of  an  impossible  republic,  an 
Utopia  ruled  by  love  and  justice,  and  I  now  saw 
he  believed  that  the  dreams  had  at  last  come 
true.  I  knew  that  the  offer  these  men  had  made 
to  follow  him,  filled  him  with  a  great  happiness 
and  gratitude.  And  that  he,  who  all  his  life  had 
striven  so  earnestly  and  so  loyally  for  others, 
would  give  his  very  soul  for  men  who  fought 
for  him.  I  was  not  glad  that  they  had  offered 
to  make  him  their  leader.  I  could  only  look 
ahead  with  miserable  forebodings  and  feel  bit 
terly  sorry  that  one  so  fine  and  good  was  again 
to  be  disillusioned  and  disappointed  and  cast 
down. 

But  there  was  no  time  that  night  to  look 
ahead.  The  men  were  outside  the  hut,  a  black, 
growling  mob  crying  for  revenge  upon  Garcia. 
Had  we  not  at  once  surrounded  them  they  would 
have  broken  for  his  camp  and  murdered  him  in 
his  hammock,  and  with  him  his  ignorant,  deceived 
followers. 

But  when  Webster  spoke  to  them  as  he  had 
spoken  to  us,  and  told  them  what  we  planned  to 
dos  and  Laguerre  stepped  out  into  the  moon- 

200 


Captain  Macklin 

light,  they  forgot  their  anger  in  their  pride  foi 
him,  and  at  his  first  word  they  fell  into  the  ranks 
as  obediently  as  so  many  fond  and  devoted  chil 
dren. 

In  Honduras  a  night  attack  is  a  discredited 
manoeuvre.  It  is  considered  an  affront  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  who  first  invented  sleep.  And 
those  officers  who  that  night  guarded  Pecachua, 
being  acquainted  with  Garcia's  plot,  were  not  ex 
pecting  us  until  two  nights  later,  when  we  were 
to  walk  into  their  parlor,  and  be  torn  to  pieces, 
Consequently,  when  Miller,  who  knew  Pecachua 
well,  having  served  without  political  prejudice  in 
six  revolutions,  led  us  up  a  by-path  to  its  top,  we 
found  the  government  troops  sleeping  sweetly 
Before  their  only  sentry  had  discovered  that 
someone  was  kneeling  on  his  chest,  our  men  were 
in  possession  of  their  batteries. 

That  morning  when  the  sun  rose  gloriously,  as 
from  a  bath,  all  pink  and  shining  and  dripping; 
with  radiance,  and  the  church  bells  began  to 
clang  for  early  mass,  and  the  bugles  at  the  bar 
racks  sounded  the  jaunty  call  of  the  reveille,  two 
puffs  of  white  smoke  rose  from  the  crest  of  EJi 
Pecachua  and  drifted  lazily  away.  At  the  same 
instant  a  shell  sang  over  the  roofs  of  Tegucigalpa, 
howling  jeeringly,  and  smashed  into  the  pots  and 
pans  of  the  President's  kitchen ;  another,  falling 

201 


Captain  Macklin 

two  miles  farther  to  the  right,  burst  through  the 
white  tent  of  General  Garcia,  and  the  people  in  the 
streets,  as  they  crossed  themselves  in  fear,  knew 
that  El  Pecachua  had  again  been  taken,  and  that 
that  night  a  new  President  would  sleep  in  the 
Palace. 

All  through  the  hot  hours  of  the  morning  the 
captured  guns  roared  and  echoed,  until  at  last  we 
saw  Garcia's  force  crawling  away  in  a  crowd  of 
dust  toward  the  hills,  and  an  hour  later  Alvarez, 
with  the  household  troops,  abandoning  the  Capi 
tal  and  hastening  after  him. 

We  were  too  few  to  follow,  but  we  whipped 
them  forward  with  our  shells. 

A  half-hour  later  a  timid  group  of  merchants 
and  foreign  consuls,  led  by  the  Bishop  and  bear 
ing  a  great  white  flag,  rode  out  to  the  foot  of  the 
rock  and  surrendered  the  city. 

I  am  sure  no  government  was  ever  established 
more  quickly  than  ours.  We  held  our  first 
cabinet  meeting  twenty  minutes  after  we  entered 
the  capital,  and  ten  minutes  later  Webster,  from 
the  balcony  of  the  Palace,  proclaimed  Laguerre 
President  and  Military  Dictator  of  Honduras. 
Laguerre  in  turn  nominated  Webster,  on  ac 
count  of  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  Minis 
ter  of  the  Interior,  and  made  me  Vice-Presi- 
dent  and  Minister  of  War  No  one  knew 


Captain  Macklin 

what  were  the  duties  of  a  Vice-President,  so  I 
asked  if  I  might  not  also  be  Provost-Marshal  of 
the  city,  and  I  was  accordingly  appointed  to  that 
position  and  sent  out  into  the  street  to  keep 
order. 

Aiken,  as  a  reward  for  his  late  services,  was 
made  head  of  the  detective  department  and  Chief 
of  Police.  His  first  official  act  was  to  promote 
two  bare-footed  policemen  who  on  his  last  visit 
to  the  Capital  had  put  him  under  arrest. 

The  General,  or  the  President,  as  we  now 
called  him,  at  once  issued  a  ringing  proclamation 
in  which  he  promised  every  liberty  that  the  peo 
ple  of  a  free  republic  should  enjoy,  and  an 
nounced  that  in  three  months  he  would  call  a 
general  election,  when  the  people  could  either  re- 
elect  him,  or  a  candidate  of  their  own  choice. 
He  announced  also  that  he  would  force  the 
Isthmian  Line  to  pay  the  people  the  half  million 
of  dollars  it  owed  them,  and  he  suggested  that 
this  money  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  people, 
and  that  they  should  pay  no  taxes  until  the  sum 
was  consumed  in  public  improvements.  Up  to 
that  time  every  new  President  had  imposed  new 
taxes ;  none  had  ever  suggested  remitting  them 
altogether,  and  this  offer  made  a  tremendous  sen 
sation  in  our  favor. 

There  were  other  departures  from  the  usuaj 
203 


Captain  Macklin 

procedure  of  victorious  presidents  which  helped 
much  to  make  us  popular.  One  was  the  fact  that 
Laguerre  did  not  shoot  anybody  against  the 
barrack  wall,  nor  levy  forced  "  loans  "  upon  the 
foreign  merchants.  Indeed,  the  only  persons 
who  suffered  on  the  day  he  came  into  power  were 
two  of  our  own  men,  whom  I  caught  looting.  1 
put  them  to  sweeping  the  streets,  each  with  a  bah 
and  chain  to  his  ankle,  as  an  example  of  the  sort 
of  order  we  meant  to  keep  among  ourselves. 

Before  mid-day  Aiken  sent  a  list,  which  his 
spies  had  compiled,  of  sympathizers  with  Alvarez* 
He  guaranteed  to  have  them  all  in  jail  before 
night.  But  Laguerre  sent  for  them  and  prom 
ised  them,  if  they  remained  neutral,  they  should 
not  be  molested.  Personally,  I  have  always  been 
of  the  opinion  that  most  cf  the  persons  on 
Aiken's  list  of  suspects  were  most  worthy  mer 
chants,  to  whom  he  owed  money, 

Laguerre  gave  a  long  audience  to  the  cashier 
of  the  Manchester  and  Central  American  Bank, 
Limited,  which  finances  Honduras,  and  assured 
him  that  the  new  administration  would  not  force 
the  bank  to  accept  the  paper  money  issued  by 
Alvarez,  but  would  accept  the  paper  money 
issued  by  the  bank,  which  was  based  on  gold. 
As  a  result,  the  cashier  came  down  the  stair-case 
of  the  Palace  three  steps  at  a  time,  and  later  our 

204 


Captain  Macklin 

censor  read  his  cable  to  the  Home  Bank  in  Eng 
land,  in  which  he  said  that  Honduras  at  last  hac? 
an  honest  man  for  President.  What  was  more 
to  the  purpose,  he  reopened  his  bank  at  three 
o'clock,  and  quoted  Honduranian  money  on  his 
blackboard  at  a  rise  of  three  per  cent,  over  that 
of  the  day  before.  This  was  a  great  compliment 
to  our  government,  and  it  must  have  impressed 
the  other  business  men,  for  by  six  o'clock  that 
night  a  delegation  of  American,  German,  and 
English  shopkeepers  called  on  the  President  and 
offered  him  a  vote  of  confidence.  They  volun 
teered  also  to  form  a  home-guard  for  the  defence 
of  the  city,  and  to  help  keep  him  in  office. 

So,  by  dinner-time,  we  had  won  over  the  for 
eign  element  entirely,  and  the  consuls  had  cabled 
their  several  ministers,  advising  them  to  advise 
their  governments  to  recognize  ours. 

It  was  a  great  triumph  lor  fair  promises  backed 
by  fair  dealing. 

Although  I  was  a  cabinet  minister  and  had  a 
right  to  have  my  say  I  did  not  concern  myself 
much  with  these  graver  problems  of  the  Palace. 

Instead,  my  first  act  was  to  cable  to  Beatrice 
that  we  were  safe  in  the  Capital  arid  that  I  was 
second  in  command.  I  did  not  tell  her  I  was 
Vice-President  of  a  country  of  300,000  people, 
because  at  Dobbs  Ferry  such  a  fact  would  seem 

205 


Captain  Macklin 

hardly  probable.  After  that  I  spent  the  day  very 
happily  galloping  around  the  town  with  the  Pro 
vost  Guard  at  my  heels,  making  friends  with  the 
inhabitants,  and  arranging  for  their  defence.  I 
posted  a  gun  at  the  entrance  to  each  of  the  three 
principal  streets,  and  ordered  mounted  scouts  to 
patrol  the  plains  outside  the  Capital.  I  also  re 
membered  Heinze  and  the  artillerymen  who  were 
protecting  us  on  the  heights  of  Pecachua,  and 
sent  them  a  moderate  amount  of  rum,  and  an 
immoderate  amount  of  canned  goods  and  cigars. 
I  also  found  time  to  design  a  wonderful  uniform 
for  the  officers  of  our  Legion — a  dark-green 
blouse  with  silver  facings  and  scarlet  riding 
breeches — and  on  the  plea  of  military  necessity  I 
ordered  six  tailors  to  sit  up  all  night  to  finish 
them. 

Uniforms  for  the  men  I  requisitioned  from  the 
stores  of  the  Government,  and  ordered  the  red 
facings  changed  to  yellow. 

The  next  day  when  we  paraded  in  full  dress 
the  President  noticed  this,  and  remarked,  "  No 
one  but  Macklin  could  have  converted  a  battery 
of  artillery,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  gun  or  the 
addition  of  a  single  horse,  into  a  battalion  of 
cavalry." 

We  had  escorted  the  President  back  to  the 
Palace,  and  I  was  returning  to  the  barracks  at  the 

206 


Captain  Macklin 

head  of  the  Legion,  with  the  local  band  playing 
grandly  before  me,  and  the  people  bowing  from 
the  sidewalks,  when  a  girl  on  a  gray  pony  turned 
into  the  plaza  and  rode  toward  us. 

She  was  followed  by  a  group  of  white  men,  but 
I  saw  only  the  girl.  When  I  recognized  even  at 
a  distance  that  she  was  a  girl  from  the  States  my 
satisfaction  was  unbounded.  It  had  needed  only 
the  presence  of  such  an  audience  to  give  the  final 
touch  of  pleasure  to  my  triumphant  progress. 
My  new  uniform  had  been  finished  only  just  in 
time. 

When  I  first  saw  the  girl  I  was  startled  merely 
because  any  white  woman  in  Honduras  is  an 
unusual  spectacle,  but  as  she  rode  nearer  I  knew 
that,  had  I  seen  this  girl  at  home  among  a  thou 
sand  women,  I  would  have  looked  only  at  her. 

She  wore  a  white  riding-habit,  and  a  high- 
peaked  Mexican  sombrero,  and  when  her  pony 
shied  at  the  sound  of  the  music  she  raised  her 
head,  and  the  sun  struck  on  the  burnished  braid 
around  the  brim,  and  framed  her  face  with  a  rim 
of  silver.  I  had  never  seen  such  a  face.  It  was 
so  beautiful  that  I  drew  a  great  breath  of  wonder, 
and  my  throat  tightened  with  the  deep  delight 
that  rose  in  me. 

I  stared  at  her  as  she  rode  forward,  because  I 
could  not  help  myself.  If  an  earthquake  had 

207 


Captain  Mackim 

opened  a  crevasse  at  my  feet  I  would  not  have 
lowered  my  eyes.  I  had  time  to  guess  who  she 
was,  for  I  knew  there  could  be  no  other  woman 
so  beautiful  in  Honduras,  except  the  daughter 
of  Joseph  Fiske.  Had  not  Aiken  said  of  her, 
"  When  she  passes,  the  native  women  kneel  by 
the  trail  and  cross  themselves  ?  " 

I  rode  toward  her  fearfully,  conscious  only  of 
a  sudden  deep  flood  of  gratitude  for  anything  so 
nobly  beautiful.  I  was  as  humbly  thankful  as  the 
'crusader  who  is  rewarded  by  his  first  sight  of  the 
Holy  City,  and  I  was  glad,  too,  that  I  came  into 
her  presence  worthily,  riding  in  advance  of  a  regi 
ment.  I  was  proud  of  our  triumphant  music,  of 
our  captured  flags  and  guns,  and  the  men  behind 
me,  who  had  taken  them. 

I  still  watched  her  as  our  column  drew  nearer, 
and  she  pulled  her  pony  to  one  side  to  let  it  pass. 
I  felt  as  though  I  were  marching  in  review  before 
an  empress,  and  I  all  but  lifted  my  sword-blade 
in  salute. 

But  as  we  passed  I  saw  that  the  look  on  her 
face  was  that  of  a  superior  and  critical  adversary. 
It  was  a  glance  of  amused  disdain,  softened  only 
by  a  smile  of  contempt.  As  it  fell  upon  me  I 
blushed  to  the  rim  of  my  sombrero.  I  felt  as 
meanly  as  though  I  had  been  caught  in  a  lie.  With 
her  eyes,  I  saw  the  bare  feet  of  our  negro  band, 

208 


Captain  Macklin 

our  ill-litting  uniforms  with  their  flannel  facings,  the 
swagger  of  our  officers,  glancing  pompously  from 
their  half-starved,  unkempt  ponies  upon  the  'native 
Indians,  who  fawned  at  us  from  the  sidewalks. 

I  saw  that  to  her  we  were  so  many  red-shirted 
firemen,  dragging  a  wooden  hose-cart ;  a  company 
of  burnt-cork  minstrels,  kicking  up  the  dust  of  a 
village  street ;  that  we  were  ridiculous,  lawless, 
absurd,  and  it  was  like  a  blow  over  my  heart  that 
one  so  noble-looking  should  be  so  blind  and  so 
unjust.  I  was  swept  with  bitter  indignation.  I 
wanted  to  turn  in  my  saddle  and  cry  to  her  that 
beneath  the  flannel  facings  at  which  she  laughed 
these  men  wore  deep,  uncared-for,  festering 
wounds ;  that  to  march  thus  through  the  streets 
of  this  tiny  Capital  they  had  waded  waist-high 
through  rivers,  had  starved  in  fever  camps,  and  at 
any  Lour  when  I  had  called  on  them  had  run  for 
ward  to  throw  cold  hands  with  death. 

The  group  of  gentlemen  who  were  riding  with 
the  girl  had  halted  their  ponies  by  the  sidewalk, 
and  as  I  drew  near  I  noted  that  one  of  them  wore 
the  uniform  of  an  ensign  in  our  navy.  This  puz 
zled  me  for  an  instant,  until  I  remembered  I  had 
heard  that  the  cruiser  Raleigh  was  lying  at  Ama- 
pala.  I  was  just  passing  the  group  when  one  of 
them,  with  the  evident  intent  that  I  should  hear 
him,  raised  his  voice. 

209 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Well,  here's  the  army,"  he  said,  "  but  where's 
Falstaff?  I  don't  see  Laguerre." 

My  face  was  still  burning  with  the  blush  the 
girl  had  brought  to  it,  and  the  moment  was  not 
the  one  that  any  man  should  have  chosen  to  ridi 
cule  my  general.  Because  the  girl  had  laughed  at 
us  I  felt  indignant  with  her,  but  for  the  same 
offence  I  was  grateful  to  the  man,  for  the  reason 
that  he  was  a  man,  and  could  be  punished.  I 
whirled  my  pony  around  and  rode  it  close  against 
his. 

"  You  must  apologize  for  that,"  I  said,  speak 
ing  in  a  low  voice,  "  or  I'll  thrash  you  with  this 
riding-whip." 

He  was  a  young  man,  exceedingly  well-looking, 
slim  and  tall,  and  with  a  fine  air  of  good  breeding. 
He  looked  straight  into  my  eyes  without  moving. 
His  hands  remained  closed  upon  the  pommel  of 
his  saddle. 

"If  you  raise  that  whip,"  he  said,  "  I'll  take  your 
tin  sword  away  from  you,  and  spank  you  with  it." 

Never  in  my  life  had  anyone  hurt  me  so  terribly. 
And  the  insult  had  come  before  my  men  and  his 
friends  and  the  people  in  the  street.  It  turned 
me  perfectly  cold,  and  all  the  blood  seemed  to  run 
to  my  eyes,  so  that  I  saw  everything  in  a  red  haze. 
When  I  answered  him  my  voice  sounded  hoarse 
and  shaky. 

210 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Get  down,"  I  said.  "  Get  down,  or  I'll  pull 
you  down.  I'm  going  to  thrash  you  until  you 
can't  stand  or  see." 

He  struck  at  me  with  his  riding-crop,  but  I 
caught  him  by  the  collar  and  with  an  old  trick  of 
the  West  Point  riding-hall  threw  him  off  into  the 
street,  and  landed  on  my  feet  above  him.  At  the 
same  moment  Miller  and  Von  Ritter  drove  their 
ponies  in  between  us,  and  three  of  the  man's 
friends  pushed  in  from  the  other  side.  But  in 
spite  of  them  we  reached  each  other,  and  I  struck 
up  under  his  guard  and  beat  him  savagely  on  the 
face  and  head,  until  I  found  his  chin,  and  he  went 
down.  There  was  an  awful  row.  The  whole 
street  was  in  an  uproar,  women  screamed,  the 
ponies  were  rearing  and  kicking,  the  natives  jab 
bering,  and  my  own  men  swearing  and  struggling 
in  a  ring  around  us. 

"  My  God,  Macklin  !  "  I  heard  Von  Ritter 
cry,  "  stop  it  1  Behave  yourself!  " 

He  rode  at  our  men  with  his  sword  and  drove 
them  back  into  ranks.  I  heard  him  shout,  "  Fall 
in  there.  Forward.  March  !  " 

"  This  is  your  idea  of  keeping  order,  is  it  ?  " 
Miller  shouted  at  me. 

"  He  insulted  Laguerre,"  I  shouted  back,  and 
scrambled  into  the  saddle.  But  I  was  far  from 
satisfied.  I,  Vice-President,  Minister  of  War, 

211 


Captain  Macklin 

Provost-Marshal  of  the  city,  had  been  fighting 
with  my  fists  in  the  open  street  before  half  the 
population.  I  knew  what  Laguerre  would  say, 
and  I  wondered  hotly  if  the  girl  had  seen  me,  and 
I  swore  at  myself  for  having  justified  her  con 
tempt  for  us.  Then  I  swore  at  myself  again  for 
giving  a  moment's  consideration  to  what  she 
thought,  I  was  recalled  to  the  present  by  the  ap 
parition  of  my  adversary  riding  his  pony  toward 
me,  partly  supported  and  partly  restrained  by  two 
of  his  friends.  He  was  trembling  with  anger  and 
pain  and  mortification. 

"  You  shall  fight  me  for  this,"  he  cried. 

I  was  about  to  retort  that  he  looked  as  though 
I  had  been  fighting  him,  but  it  is  not  easy  to 
laugh  at  a  man  when  he  is  covered  with  dust  and 
blood,  and  this  one  was  so  sorry  a  spectacle  that 
I  felt  ashamed  for  him,  and  said  nothing. 

"  I  am  not  a  street  fighter,"  he  raged.  "  I 
wasn't  taught  to  fight  in  a  lot.  But  I'll  fight  you 
like  a  gentleman,  just  as  though  you  were  a 
gentleman.  You  needn't  think  you've  heard  the 
last  of  me.  My  friends  will  act  for  me,  and,  un 
less  you're  a  coward,  you  will  name  your  seconds." 

Before  I  could  answer,  Von  Ritter  had  removed 
his  hat  and  was  bowing  violently  from  his  saddle. 

"  I  am  Baron  Herbert  Von  Ritter,"  he  said, 
"  late  Aide-de-Camp  to  his  Majesty,  the  King  of 

212 


Captain  Macklin 

Bavaria.  If  you  are  not  satisfied,  Captain  Miller 
and  myself  will  do  ourselves  the  honor  of  calling 
on  your  friends." 

His  manner  was  so  grand  that  it  quite  calmed 
me  to  hear  him. 

One  of  the  men  who  was  supporting  my  ad 
versary,  a  big,  sun-burned  man,  in  a  pith  helmet, 
shook  his  head  violently. 

"  Here,  none  of  that,  Miller,"  he  said  ;  "  drop 
it.  Can't  you  see  the  boy  isn't  himself?  This 
isn't  the  time  to  take  advantage  of  him." 

"  We  are  only  trying  to  oblige  the  gentleman," 
said  Miller.  "  The  duel  is  the  only  means  of 
defence  we've  left  you  people.  But  I  tell  you,  if 
any  of  you  insult  our  government  again,  we  won't 
even  give  you  that  satisfaction — we'll  ride  you 
out  of  town." 

The  man  in  the  pith  helmet  listened  to  Miller 
without  any  trace  of  emotion.  When  Miller  had 
finished  he  laughed. 

"  We've  every  means  of  defence  that  an  Amer 
ican  citizen  needs  when  he  runs  up  against  a 
crowd  like  yours,"  he  said.  He  picked  up  his 
reins  and  turned  his  horse's  head  down  the  street. 
c<  You  will  find  us  at  the  Hotel  Continental,"  he 
added.  "  And  as  for  running  us  out  of  town," 
he  shouted  over  his  shoulder,  "  there's  an  Amer 
ican  man-of-war  at  Amapala  that  is  going  to 

213 


Captain  Macklin 

chase  you  people  out  of  it  as  soon  as  we  give  the 
word." 

When  I  saw  that  Miller  and  Von  Ritter  were 
arranging  a  duel,  I  felt  no  further  interest  in  what 
the  man  said,  until  he  threatened  us  with  the 
warship.  At  that  I  turned  toward  the  naval 
ensign  to  see  how  he  received  it. 

He  was  a  young  man,  some  years  older  than 
myself,  with  a  smooth  face  and  fair,  yellow  hair 
and  blue  eyes.  I  found  that  the  blue  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  me  steadily  and  kindly.  When  he  saw 
that  I  had  caught  him  watching  me  he  raised  his 
hand  smartly  to  the  visor. 

I  do  not  know  why,  but  it  made  the  tears 
come  to  my  eyes.  It  was  so  different  from  the 
salute  of  our  own  men ;  it  was  like  being  back 
again  under  the  flag  at  the  Point.  It  was  the 
recognition  of  the  "  regular  "  that  touched  me,  of 
a  bona-fide,  commissioned  officer. 

But  I  returned  his  salute  just  as  stifHy  as 
though  I  were  a  commissioned  officer  myself. 
And  then  a  strange  thing  happened.  The  sailor- 
boy  jerked  his  head  toward  the  retreating  form  of 
my  late  adversary,  and  slowly  stuck  his  tongue 
into  his  cheek,  and  winked.  Before  I  could  re 
cover  myself,  he  had  caught  up  my  hand  and 
given  it  a  sharp  shake,  and  galloped  after  his 
friends. 

214 


Captain  Macklin 

Miller  and  I  fell  in  at  the  rear  of  the  column. 

"  Who  were  those  men  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  The  Isthmian  Line  people,  of  course,"  he 
answered,  shortly.  "  The  man  in  the  helmet  is 
Graham,  the  manager  of  the  Copan  Silver  Mines. 
They've  just  unloaded  them  on  Fiske.  That's 
why  they're  so  thick  with  him." 

"  And  who  was  the  chap  who  insulted  La- 
guerre  ? "  I  asked.  "  The  one  whose  face  I 
slapped  ? " 

"  Face  you  slapped  ?  Ha  !  "  Miller  snorted. 
"  I  hope  you'll  never  slap  my  face.  Why,  don't 
you  know  who  he  is  ? "  he  exclaimed,  with  a  grin. 
"  I  thought,  of  course,  you  did.  I  thought  that's 
why  you  hit  him.  He's  young  Fiske,  the  old 
man's  son.  That  was  his  sister  riding  ahead  of 
them.  Didn't  you  see  that  girl  ?  " 


V 


THE  day  we  attacked  the  capital  Joseph 
Fiske  and  his  party  were  absent  from  it, 
visiting  Graham,  the  manager  of  the  Copan 
Mines,  at  his  country  place,  and  when  word  was 
received  there  that  we  had  taken  the  city,  Gra 
ham  urged  Mr.  Fiske  not  to  return  to  it,  but  to 
ride  at  once  to  the  -coast  and  go  on  board  the 
yacht.  They  told  him  that  the  capital  was  in 
the  hands  of  a  mob. 

But  what  really  made  Graham,  and  the  rest  of 
the  Copan  people,  and  the  Isthmian  crowd,  who 
now  were  all  working  together  against  us,  so 
anxious  to  get  Fiske  out  of  Honduras^  was  that 
part  of  Laguerre's  proclamation  in  which  he  said 
he  would  force  the  Isthmian  Line  to  pay  its 
just  debts.  They  were  most  anxious  that  Fiske 
should  not  learn  from  us  the  true  version  of  that 
claim  for  back  pay.  They  had  told  him  we  were 
a  lot  of  professional  filibusters,  that  the  demand 
we  made  for  the  half-million  of  dollars  was  a 
gigantic  attempt  at  blackmail.  They  pointed  out 
to  him  that  the  judges  of  the  highest  courts  of 
Honduras  had  decided  against  the  validity  of  our 

216 


Captain  Macklin 

claim,  but  they  did  not  tell  him  that  Alvarez  had 
ordered  the  judges  to  decide  in  favor  of  the  com 
pany,  nor  how  much  money  they  had  paid  Al 
varez  and  the  judges  for  that  decision.  Instead 
they  urged  that  Garcia,  a  native  of  the  country, 
had  submitted  to  the  decree  of  the  courts  and  had 
joined  Alvarez,  and  that  now  the  only  people 
fighting  against  the  Isthmian  Line  were  foreign 
adventurers.  They  asked,  Was  it  likely  such 
men  would  risk  their  lives  to  benefit  the  natives  ? 
Was  it  not  evident  that  they  were  fighting  only 
for  their  own  pockets  ?  And  they  warned  Fiske 
that  while  Laguerre  was  still  urging  his  claim 
against  this  company,  it  would  be  unwise  for  the 
president  of  that  company  to  show  himself  in 
Tegucigalpa. 

But  Fiske  laughed  at  the  idea  of  danger  to 
himself.  He  said  a  revolution,  like  cock-fight 
ing,  was  a  national  pastime,  and  no  more  serious, 
and  that  should  anyone  attempt  to  molest  the 
property  of  the  company,  he  would  demand  the 
protection  of  his  own  country  as  represented  by 
the  Raleigh. 

He  accordingly  rode  back  to  the  capital,  and 
with  his  son  and  daughter  and  the  company's 
representatives  and  the  Copan  people,  returned 
to  the  same  rooms  in  the  Hotel  Continental  he 
had  occupied  three  days  before,  when  Alvarez 

217 


Captain  Macklin 

was  president.  This  made  it  embarrassing  for 
<js,  as  the  Continental  was  the  only  hotel  in  the 
city,  and  as  it  was  there  we  had  organized  our 
officers'  mess.  In  consequence,  while  there  was 
no  open  war,  the  dining-room  of  the  hotel  was 
twice  daily  the  meeting-place  of  the  two  opposing 
factions,  and  Von  Ritter  told  me  that  until  mat 
ters  had  been  arranged  with  the  seconds  of  young 
Fiske  I  could  not  appear  there,  as  it  would  be 
"  contrary  to  the  code." 

But  our  officers  were  not  going  to  allow  the 
Copan  and  Isthmian  people  to  drive  them  out  of 
their  head-quarters,  so  at  the  table  d'hote  lunch 
eon  that  day  our  fellows  sat  at  one  end  of  the 
room,  and  Fiske  and  Miss  Fiske,  Graham  and 
his  followers  at  the  other.  They  entirely  ignored 
each  other.  After  the  row  I  had  raised  in  the 
street,  each  side  was  anxious  to  avoid  further 
friction. 

As  I  sat  in  the  barracks  over  my  solitary 
luncheon  my  thoughts  were  entirely  on  the  duel. 

It  had  been  forced  on  me,  so  I  accepted  it; 
but  it  struck  me  as  a  most  silly  proceeding. 
Young  Fiske  had  insulted  my  General  and  my 
comrades.  He  had  done  so  publicly  and  with 
intent.  I  had  thrashed  him  as  I  said  I  would, 
and  as  far  as  I  could  see  the  incident  was  closed. 
But  Miller  and  Von  Ritter,  who  knew  Honduras 

218 


Captain  Mack]  in 

from  Fonseca  Bay  to  Truxillo,  assured  me  that, 
unless  I  met  the  man,  who  had  insulted  me  be 
fore  the  people,  our  prestige  would  be  entirely 
destroyed.  To  the  Honduranian  mind,  the  fact 
that  I  had  thrashed  him  for  so  doing,  would  not 
serve  as  a  substitute  for  a  duel,  it  only  made  a 
duel  absolutely  necessary.  As  1  had  determined, 
if  we  did  meet,  that  I  would  not  shoot  at  him,  I 
knew  I  would  receive  no  credit  from  such  an 
encounter,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  1  was 
being  made  ridiculous,  and  stood  a  very  fair 
chance  of  being  killed. 

1  sincerely  hoped  that  young  Fiske  would 
apologize.  I  assured  myself  that  my  reluctance 
to  meet  him  was  due  to  the  fact  that  I  scorned  to 
fight  a  civilian.  I  always  classed  civilians,  with 
women  and  children,  as  non-combatants.  But  in 
my  heart  1  knew  that  it  was  not  this  prejudice 
which  made  me  hesitate.  The  sister  was  the  real 
reason.  That  he  was  her  brother  was  the  only 
fact  of  importance.  Had  his  name  been  Robin 
son  or  Brown,  I  would  have  gone  out  and  shot 
at  the  calves  of  his  legs  most  cheerfully,  and 
taken  considerable  satisfaction  in  the  notoriety 
that  would  have  followed  my  having  done  so. 

But  I  could  never  let  his  sister  know  that  I 
had  only  fired  in  the  air,  and  I  knew  that  if  I 
fought  her  brother  she  would  always  look  upon 

219 


Captain  Macklin 

me  as  one  who  had  attempted  to  murder  him.  i 
could  never  speak  to  her,  or  even  look  at  her 
again.  And  at  that  moment  I  felt  that  if  I  did 
not  meet  her.,  I  could  go  without  meeting  any 
other  women  for  many  years  to  come.  She  was 
the  most  wonderful  creature  I  had  ever  seen. 
She  was  not  beautiful,  as  Beatrice  was  beautiful; 
in  a  womanly,  gracious  way,  but  she  had  the 
beauty  of  something  unattainable.  Instead  of 
inspiring  you,  she  filled  you  with  disquiet.  She 
seemed  to  me  a  regal,  goddess-like  woman,  one 
that  a  man  might  worship  with  that  tribute  of 
fear  and  adoration  that  savages  pay  to  the  fire 
and  the  sun. 

I  had  ceased  to  blush  because  she  had  laughed 
at  us.  I  had  begun  to  think  that  it  was  quite 
right  that  she  should  do  so.  To  her  we  were 
lawless  adventurers,  exiles,  expatriates,  fugitives, 
She  did  not  know  that  most  of  us  were  unselfish, 
and  that  our  cause  was  just.  She  thought,  if  she 
thought  of  us  at  all,  that  we  were  trying  to  levy 
blackmail  on  her  father.  I  did  not  blame  her  for 
despising  us.  I  only  wished  I  could  tell  her 
how  she  had  been  deceived,  and  assure  her  that 
among  us  there  was  one,  at  least,  who  thought  of 
her  gratefully  and  devotedly,  and  who  would  suf 
fer  much  before  he  would  hurt  her  or  hers.  I 
knew  that  this  was  so,  and  I  hoped  her  brother 

220 


Captain  Macklin 

would  not  be  such  an  ass  as  to  insist  upon  a  duel, 
and  make  me  pretend  to  fight  him,  that  her 
father  would  be  honest  enough  to  pay  his  debts, 
and  that  some  day  she  and  I  might  be  friends. 

But  these  hopes  were  killed  by  the  entrance  of 
Miller  and  Von  Ritter.  They  looked  very  grave. 

"  He  won't  apologize,"  Miller  said.  "  We 
arranged  that  you  are  to  meet  behind  the  grave 
yard  at  sunrise  to-morrow  morning."  I  was  bit 
terly  disappointed,  but  of  course  I  could  not  let 
them  see  that. 

"  Does  Laguerre  know  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  No,"  Miller  said,  "  neither  does  old  man 
Fiske.  We  had  the  deuce  of  a  time.  Graham 
and  Lowell — that  young  Middy  from  the  Raleigh 
— are  his  seconds,  and  we  found  we  were  all  agreed 
that  he  had  better  apologize.  Lowell,  especially, 
was  very  keen  that  you  two  should  shake  hands, 
but  when  they  went  out  to  talk  it  over  with 
Fiske,  he  came  back  with  them  in  a  terrible  rage, 
and  swore  he'd  not  apologize,  and  that  he'd 
either  shoot  you  or  see  you  hung.  Lowell  told 
him  it  was  all  rot  that  two  Americans  should  be 
fighting  duels,  but  Fiske  said  that  when  he  was 
in  Rome,  he  did  as  Romans  did ;  that  he  had 
been  brought  up  in  Paris  to  believe  in  duels, 
and  that  a  duel  he  would  have.  Then  the  sister 
came  in,  and  there  was  a  hell  of  a  row  J  " 

221 


Captain  Macklin 

*  The  sister !  "  I  exclaimed. 

Miller  nodded,  and  Von  Ritter  and  he  shook 
their  heads  sadly  at  each  other,  as  though  the 
recollection  of  the  interview  weighed  heavily. 

"  Yes,  his  sister,"  said  Miller.  "  You  know 
how  these  Honduranian  places  are  built,  if  a 
parrot  scratches  his  feathers  in  the  patio  you  can 
hear  it  in  every  room  in  the  house.  Well,  she 
was  reading  on  the  balcony,  and  when  her  brother 
began  to  rage  around  and  swear  he'd  have  your 
blood,  she  heard  him,  and  opened  the  shutters 
and  came  in.  She  didn't  stay  long,  and  she 
didn't  say  much,  but  she  talked  to  us  as  though 
we  were  so  many  bad  children.  I  never  felt  so 
mean  in  my  life." 

"  She  should  not  have  been  there,"  said  Von 
Ritter,  stolidly.  "  It  was  most  irregular." 

"  Fiske  tried  the  high  and  mighty,  brotherly 
act  with  her,"  Miller  continued,  "  but  she  shook 
him  up  like  a  charge  of  rack-a-rock.  She  told 
him  that  a  duel  was  unmanly  and  un-American, 
and  that  he  would  be  a  murderer.  She  said  his 
honor  didn't  require  him  to  risk  his  life  for  every 
cad  who  went  about  armed,  insulting  unarmed 
people " 

"  What  did  she  say  ? "  I  cried.    "  Say  that  again." 

Von  Ritter  tossed  up  his  arms  and  groaned, 
but  Miller  shook  his  fist  at  me. 

222 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Now,  don't  you  go  and  get  wrathy,""  he 
roared.  "  We'll  not  stand  it.  We've  been 
abused  by  everybody  else  on  your  account  to 
day,  and  we  won't  take  it  from  you.  It  doesn't 
matter  what  the  girl  said.  They  probably  told 
her  you  began  the  fight,  and " 

"  She  said  I  was  a  cad,"  I  repeated,  "  and  that 
I  struck  an  unarmed  man.  Didn't  her  brother 
tell  her  that  he  first  insulted  me,  and  struck  me 
with  his  whip,  and  that  I  only  used  my  fists. 
Didn't  any  of  you  tell  her  ?  " 

"  No  !  "  roared  Miller ;  "  what  the  devil  has 
that  got  to  do  with  it  ?  She  was  trying  to  pre 
vent  the  duel.  We  were  trying  to  prevent  the 
duel.  That's  all  that's  important.  And  if  she 
hadn't  made  the  mistake  of  thinking  you  might 
back  out  of  it,  we  could  have  prevented  it.  Now 
we  can't." 

I  began  to  wonder  if  the  opinion  the  Fiske 
family  had  formed  of  me,  on  so  slight  an  ac 
quaintance,  was  not  more  severe  than  I  deserved, 
but  I  did  not  let  the  men  see  how  sorely  the 
news  had  hurt  me.  I  only  asked  :  "  What  other 
mistake  did  the  young  lady  make  ?  " 

"  She  meant  it  all  right,"  said  Miller,  "  but  it 
was  a  woman's  idea  of  a  bluff,  and  it  didn't  go. 
She  told  us  that  before  we  urged  her  brother  on 
to  fight,  we  should  have  found  out  that  he  has 

223 


Captain  Macklin 

spent  the  last  five  years  in  Paris,  and  that  he's  the 
gilt-edged  pistol-shot  of  the  salle  d'armes  in  the 
Rue  Scribe,  that  he  can  hit  a  scarf-pin  at  twenty 
paces.  Of  course  that  ended  it.  The  Baron 
spoke  up  in  his  best  style  and  said  that  in  the 
face  of  this  information  it  would  be  now  quite 
impossible  for  our  man  to  accept  an  apology 
without  being  considered  a  coward,  and  that  a 
meeting  must  take  place.  Then  the  girl  ran  to 
her  brother  and  said,  £  What  have  I  done  ?  *  and 
he  put  his  arm  around  her  and  walked  her  out  of 
the  room.  Then  we  arranged  the  details  in  peace 
and  came  on  here." 

"Good,"  I  said,  "you  did  exactly  right.  I'll 
meet  you  at  dinner  at  the  hotel." 

But  at  this  Von  Ritter  protested  that  I  must 
not  dine  there,  that  it  was  against  the  code. 

"  The  code  be  hanged,"  I  said.  "  If  I  don't 
turn  up  at  dinner  they'll  say  I'm  afraid  to  show 
myself  out  of  doors.  Besides,  if  I  must  be 
shot  through  the  scarf-pin  before  breakfast  to 
morrow  morning,  I  mean  to  have  a  good  dinner 
to-night." 

They  left  me,  and  I  rode  to  the  palace  to  make 
my  daily  report  to  the  president.  I  was  relieved 
to  find  that  both  he  and  Webster  were  so  deep  in 
affairs  of  state  that  they  had  heard  nothing  of  my 
row  in  the  Plaza,  nor  of  the  duel  to  follow.  They 

224 


Captain  Macklin 

were  happy  as  two  children  building  forts  of  sand 
on  the  sea-shore.  They  had  rescinded  taxes, 
altered  the  tariffs,  reorganized  the  law-courts, 
taken  over  the  custom-houses  by  telegraph,  and 
every  five  minutes  were  receiving  addresses  from 
delegations  of  prominent  Honduranians.  Nica 
ragua  and  Salvador  had  both  recognized  their 
government,  and  concession  hunters  were  already 
cooling  their  heels  in  the  ante-room.  In  every 
town  and  seaport  the  adherents  of  Garcia  had 
swung  over  to  Laguerre  and  our  government, 
and  our  flag  was  now  flying  in  every  part  of 
Honduras.  It  was  the  flag  of  Walker,  with  the 
five-pointed  blood-red  star.  We  did  not  explain 
the  significance  of  the  five  points. 

I  reported  that  my  scouts  had  located  Alvarez 
and  Garcia  in  the  hills  some  five  miles  distant 
from  the  capital,  that  they  were  preparing  a  per 
manent  camp  there,  and  that  they  gave  no  evi 
dence  of  any  immediate  intention  of  attacking  the 
city.  General  Laguerre  was  already  informed  of 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  Fiske,  and  had  arranged  to 
give  him  an  audience  the  following  morning.  He 
hoped  in  this  interview  to  make  clear  to  him  how 
just  was  the  people's  claim  for  the  half  million 
due  them,  and  to  obtain  his  guaranty  that  the 
money  should  be  paid. 

As  I  was  leaving  the  palace  I  met  Aiken.  He 
225 


Captain  Macklin 

was  in  his  most  cynical  mood.  He  said  that  the 
air  was  filled  with  plots  and  counter-plots,  and 
that  treachery  stalked  abroad.  He  had  been  un 
successful  in  trying  to  persuade  the  president  to 
relieve  Hemze  of  his  command  on  Pecachua.  He 
wanted  Von  Ritter  or  myself  put  in  his  place. 

"  It  is  the  key  to  the  position,"  Aiken  said, 
"  and  if  Heinze  should  sell  us  out,  we  would  have 
to  run  for  our  lives.  These  people  are  all  smiles 
and  c  vivas  *  to-day  because  we  are  on  top.  But 
if  we  lost  Pecachua,  every  man  of  them  would 
turn  against  us." 

I  laughed  and  said :  "  We  can  trust  Heinze. 
If  I  had  your  opinion  of  my  fellow-man,  I'd  blow 
my  brains  out.'* 

"  If  I  hadn't  had  such  a  low  opinion  of  my  fel 
low-man,"  Aiken  retorted, "  he'd  have  blown  your 
brains  out.  Don't  forget  that." 

"No  one  listens  to  me,"  he  said.  "  I  consider 
that  I  am  very  hardly  used.  For  a  consideration 
a  friend  of  Alvarez  told  me  where  Alvarez  had 
buried  most  of  the  government  monev  I  went 
to  the  cellar  and  dug  it  up  and  turned  it  over  to 
Laguerre.  And  what  do  you  think  he's  doing 
with  it!"  Aiken  exclaimed  with  indignation. 
"  He's  going  to  give  the  government  troops  their 
back  pay,  and  the  post-office  clerks,  and  the  peons 
who  worked  on  the  public  roads." 

226 


Captain  Macklin 

I  said  I  considered  that  that  was  a  most  excel 
lent  use  to  make  of  the  money ;  that  from  what  I 
had  seen  of  the  native  troops,  it  would  turn  our 
prisoners  of  war  into  our  most  loyal  adherents.  ! 

"  Of  course  it  will ! "  Aiken  agreed.  "  Why, 
if  the  government  troops  out  there  in  the  hills 
with  Alvarez  knew  we  were  paying  sixty  pesos  for 
soldiers,  they'd  run  to  join  us  so  quick  that  they'd 
die  on  the  way  of  sunstroke.  But  that's  not  it. 
Where  do  we  come  in  ?  What  do  we  get  out  of 
this  ?  Have  we  been  fighting  for  three  months 
just  to  pay  the  troops  who  have  been  fighting 
against  us  ?  Charity  begins  at  home,  I  think." 

"You  get  your  own  salary,  don't  you  ?"  I 
asked. 

"  Oh,  I'm  not  starving/*  Aiken  said,  with  a 
grin.  "  There's  a  lot  of  loot  in  being  chief-of- 
police.  This  is  going  to  be  a  wide-open  town  if 
I  can  run  it." 

"  Well,  you  can't,"  I  laughed.  "  Not  as  long 
as  I'm  its  provost  marshal." 

"Yes,  and  how  long  will  that  be?"  Aiken 
retorted.  "  You  take  my  advice  and  make  money 
now,  while  you've  got  the  club  to  get  it  with  you. 
Why,  if  I  had  your  job  I  could  scare  ten  thousand 
sols  out  of  these  merchants  before  sunrise.  Instead 
of  which  you  walk  around  nights  to  see  their  front 
doors  are  locked.  Let  them  do  the  walking. 

227 


Captain  Macklin 

We've  won,  and  let's  enjoy  the  spoil.  Eat,  ilve 
and  be  merry,  my  boy,  for  to-morrow  you  die.'" 

"  I  hope  not,"  I  exclaimed,  and  I  ran  down 
the  steps  of  the  palace  and  turned  toward  the  bar 
racks. 

"  To-morrow  you  die,"  I  repeated,  but  I  could 
not  arouse  a  single  emotion.  Portents  and  pre 
monitions  may  frighten  some  people,  but  the  only 
superstition  I  hold  to  is  to  believe  in  the  luck  of 
Royal  Macklin. 

"  What  if  Fiske  can  hit  a  scarf-pin  at  twenty 
paces !  "  I  said  to  myself,  "  he  can't  hit  me." 
I  was  just  as  sure  of  it  as  I  was  of  the  fact  that: 
when  I  met  him  I  was  going  to  fire  in  the  air.  1 
cannot  tell  why.  I  was  just  sure  of  it. 

The  dining-room  at  the  Continental  held  three 
long  tables.  That  night  our  officers  sat  at  one,, 
Mr.  Fiske  and  his  party  were  at  the  one  farthest 
away,  and  a  dining-club  of  consular  agents,  mer 
chants,  and  the  Telegraph  Company's  people  occu 
pied  the  one  in  between.  I  could  see  her  whenever 
the  German  consul  bent  over  his  food.  She  was 
very  pale  and  tired-looking,  but  in  the  white  even- 
mg  frock  she  wore,  all  soft  and  shining  with  Iace3 
she  was  as  beautiful  as  the  moonlit  night  outside,. 
She  never  once  looked  in  our  direction.  But  I 
could  not  keep  my  eyes  away  from  her.  The 
merchants,  no  doubt,  enjoyed  their  dinner.  They 

228 , 


Captain  Macklin 


laughed  and  argued  boisterously,  but  at  the  two 
other  tables  there  was  very  little  said. 

The  waiters,  pattering  over  the  stone  floor  in 
their  bare  feet,  made  more  noise  than  our  entire 
mess. 

When  the  brandy  came,  Russell  nodded  at  the 
others,  and  they  filled  their  glasses  and  drank  to 
me  in  silence.  At  the  other  table  I  saw  the  same 
pantomime,  only  on  account  of  old  man  Fiske 
they  had  to  act  even  more  covertly.  It  struck  me 
as  being  vastly  absurd  and  wicked.  What  right 
had  young  Fiske  to  put  his  life  in  jeopardy  to  me  ? 
It  was  not  in  my  keeping.  I  had  no  claim  upon 
it.  It  was  not  in  his  own  keeping.  At  least  not 
to  throw  away. 

When  they  had  gone  and  our  officers  had 
shaken  hands  with  me  and  ridden  off  to  their 
different  posts,  I  went  out  upon  the  balcony  by 
myself  and  sat  down  i  the  shadow  of  the  vines. 
The  stream  which  cuts  Tegucigalpa  in  two  ran 
directly  below  the  hotel,  splashing  against  the 
rocks  and  sweeping  under  the  stone  bridge  with  a 
ceaseless  murmur.  Beyond  it  stretched  the  red- 
tiled  roofs,  glowing  pink  in  the  moonlight,  and 
beyond  them  the  camp-fires  of  Alvarez  twinkling 
like  glow-worms  against  the  dark  background  of 
the  hills.  The  town  had  gone  to  sleep,  and  the 
hotel  was  as  silent  as  a  church.  There  was  no 

229 


Captain  Macklin 

sound  except  the  whistle  of  a  policeman  calling 
the  hour,  the  bark  of  the  street-dogs  in  answer, 
and  the  voice  of  one  of  our  sentries,  arguing  with 
some  jovial  gentleman  who  was  abroad  without  a 
pass.  After  the  fever  and  anxieties  of  the  last 
few  days  the  peace  of  the  moment  was  sweet  and 
grateful  to  me,  and  I  sank  deeper  into  the  long 
wicker  chair  and  sighed  with  content.  The  pre 
vious  night  I  had  spent  on  provost  duty  in  the 
saddle,  and  it  must  have  been  that  I  dropped 
asleep,  for  when  I  next  raised  my  head  Miss 
Fiske  was  standing  not  twenty  feet  from  me.  She 
was  leaning  against  one  of  the  pillars,  a  cold  and 
stately  statue  in  the  moonlight. 

She  did  not  know  anyone  was  near  her,  and 
when  I  moved  and  my  spurs  clanked  on  the 
stones,  she  started,  and  turned  her  eyes  slowly 
toward  the  shadow  in  which  I  sat. 

During  dinner  they  must  have  told  her  which 
one  of  us  was  to  fight  the  duel,  for  when  she 
recognized  me  she  moved  sharply  away.  I  did 
not  wish  her  to  think  I  would  intrude  on  her 
against  her  will,  so  I  rose  and  walked  toward  the 
door,  but  before  I  had  reached  it  she  again  turned 
and  approached  me. 

"You  are  Captain  Macklin?"  she  said. 

I  was  so  excited  at  the  thought  that  she  was 
about  to  speak  to  me,  and  so  happy  to  hear  her 

230 


Captain  Macklin 

roice,  that  for  an  instant  I  could  only  whip  off 
my  hat  and  gaze  at  her  stupidly. 

"  Captain  Macklin,"  she  repeated.  "  This 
afternoon  I  tried  to  stop  the  duel  you  are  to  fight 
with  my  brother,  and  I  am  told  that  I  made  a 
very  serious  blunder.  I  should  like  to  try  and 
correct  it.  When  I  spoke  of  my  brother's  skill, 
I  mean  his  skill  with  the  pistol,  I  knew  you  were 
ignorant  of  it  and  I  thought  if  you  did  know  of 
it  you  would  see  the  utter  folly,  the  wickedness 
of  this  duel.  But  instead  I  am  told  that  I  only 
made  it  difficult  for  you  not  to  meet  him.  I  can 
not  in  the  least  see  that  that  follows.  I  wish  to 
make  it  clear  to  you  that  it  does  not." 

She  paused,  and  I,  as  though  I  had  been  speak 
ing,  drew  a  long  breath.  Had  she  been  reading 
from  a  book  her  tone  could  not  have  been  more 
impersonal.  I  might  have  been  one  of  a  class  of 
school-boys  to  whom  she  was  expounding  a  prob 
lem.  At  the  Point  I  have  heard  officers'  wives 
use  the  same  tone  to  the  enlisted  men.  Its  effect 
on  them  was  to  drive  them  into  a  surly  silence. 

But  Miss  Fiske  did  not  seem  conscious  of  her 
tone. 

"  After  I  had  spoken,"  she  went  on  evenly, 
"  they  told  me  of  your  reputation  in  this  country, 
that  you  are  known  to  be  quite  fearless.  They 
told  me  of  your  ordering  your  own  men  to  shoot 

231 


Captain  Macklin 

you,  and  of  how  you  took  a  cannon  with  your 
hands.  Well,  I  cannot  see — since  your  reputa 
tion  for  bravery  is  so  well  established — that  you 
need  to  prove  it  further,  certainly  not  by  engag 
ing  in  a  silly  duel.  You  cannot  add  to  it  by 
fighting  my  brother,  and  if  you  should  injure  him, 
you  would  bring  cruel  distress  to — to  others." 

"  I  assure  you "  I  began. 

"  Pardon  me,"  she  said,  raising  her  hand,  but 
still  speaking  in  the  same  even  tone.  "  Let  me 
explain  myself  fully.  Your  own  friends  said  in 
my  hearing,"  she  went  on,  "  that  they  did  not 
desire  a  fight.  It  is  then  my  remark  only  which 
apparently  makes  it  inevitable." 

She  drew  herself  up  and  her  tone  grew  even 
more  distant  and  disdainful. 

"  Now,  it  is  not  possible,"  she  exclaimed, 
"  that  you  and  your  friends  are  going  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  my  mistake,  and  make  it  the  excuse 
for  this  meeting.  Suppose  any  harm  should 
come  to  my  brother."  For  the  first  time  her 
voice  carried  a  touch  of  feeling.  "  It  would  be 
my  fault.  I  would  always  have  myself  to  blame. 
And  I  want  to  ask  you  not  to  fight  him.  I 
want  to  ask  you  to  withdraw  from  this  al 
together." 

I  was  completely  confused.  Never  before  had 
a  young  lady  of  a  class  which  I  had  so  seldom 

232 


Captain  Macklin 

met,  spoken  to  me  even  in  the  words  of  every 
day  civility,  and  now  this  one,  who  was  the  most 
wonderful  and  beautiful  woman  I  had  ever  seen, 
was  asking  me  to  grant  an  impossible  favor,  was 
speaking  of  my  reputation  for  bravery  as  though 
it  were  a  fact  which  everyone  accepted,  and  was 
begging  me  not  to  make  her  suffer.  What  added 
to  my  perplexity  was  that  she  asked  me  to  act 
only  as  I  desired  to  act,  but  she  asked  it  in  such 
a  manner  that  every  nerve  in  me  rebelled. 

I  could  not  understand  how  she  could  ask  so 
great  a  favor  of  one  she  held  in  such  evident  con 
tempt.  It  seemed  to  me  that  she  should  not 
have  addressed  me  at  all,  or  if  she  did  ask  me 
to  stultify  my  honor  and  spare  the  life  of  her 
precious  brother  she  should  not  have  done  so  in 
the  same  tone  with  which  she  would  have  asked 
a  tradesman  for  his  bill.  The  fact  that  I  knew, 
since  I  meant  to  fire  in  the  air,  that  the  duet  was  a 
farce,  made  it  still  more  difficult  for  me  to  speak. 

But  I  managed  to  say  that  what  she  asked  was 
impossible. 

"  I  do  not  know/'  I  stammered,  "  that  I  ought 
to  talk  about  it  to  you  at  all.  But  you  don't  un 
derstand  that  your  brother  did  not  only  insult 
me.  He  insulted  my  regiment,  and  my  general. 
It  was  that  I  resented,  and  that  is  why  I  am 
fighting." 

233 


Captain  Macklin 


cc  Then  you  refuse  ?  "  she  said. 

"  I  have  no  choice,"  I  replied ;  "  he  has  left 
me  no  choice." 

She  drew  back,  but  still  stood  looking  at  me 
coldly.  The  dislike  in  her  eyes  wounded  me 
inexpressively. 

Before  she  spoke  I  had  longed  only  for  the 
chance  to  assure  her  of  my  regard,  and  had  she 
appealed  to  me  generously,  in  a  manner  suited  to 
one  so  noble-looking,  I  was  in  a  state  of  mind  to 
swim  livers  and  climb  mountains  to  serve  her. 
I  still  would  have  fought  the  duel,  but  sooner 
than  harm  her  brother  I  would  have  put  my 
hand  in  the  fire.  Now,  since  she  had  spoken,  I 
was  filled  only  with  pity  and  disappointment.  It 
seemed  so  wrong  that  one  so  finely  bred  and 
wonderfully  fair  should  feel  so  little  considera 
tion.  No  matter  how  greatly  she  had  been  prej 
udiced  against  me  she  had  no  cause  to  ignore  my 
rights  in  the  matter.  To  speak  to  me  as  though 
I  had  no  honor  of  my  own,  no  worthy  motive,  to 
treat  me  like  a  common  brawler  who,  because  his 
vanity  was  wounded,  was  trying  to  force  an  unof 
fending  stranger  to  a  fight. 

My  vanity  was  wounded,  but  I  felt  more  sorry 
for  her  than  for  myself,  and  when  she  spoke 
again  I  listened  eagerly,  hoping  she  would  say 
something  which  would  soften  what  had  gone  be- 

234 


Captain  Macklin 

fore.     But  she  did  not  make  it  easier  for  either 
of  us. 

"  If  I  persuade  my  brother  to  apologize  for 
what  he  said  of  your  regiment,"  she  continued, 
"  will  you  accept  his  apology  ? "  Her  tone  was 
one  partly  of  interrogation,  partly  of  command. 
"  I  do  not  think  he  is  likely  to  do  so,"  she 
added,  "  but  if  you  will  let  that  suffice,  I  shall  see 
him  at  once,  and  ask  him." 

"  You  need  not  do  that ! "  I  replied,  quickly. 
"  As  I  have  said,  it  is  not  my  affair.  It  concerns 
my — a  great  many  people.  I  am  sorry,  but  the 
meeting  must  take  place." 

For  the  first  time  Miss  Fiske  smiled,  but  it 
was  the  same  smile  of  amusement  with  which  she 
had  regarded  us  when  she  first  saw  us  in  the 
plaza. 

"  I  quite  understand,"  she  said,  still  smiling. 
"  You  need  not  assure  me  that  it  concerns  a  great 
many  people."  She  turned  away  as  though  the 
interview  was  at  an  end,  and  then  halted.  She 
had  stepped  into  the  circle  of  the  moonlight  so 
that  her  beauty  shone  full  upon  me. 

"  1  know  that  it  concerns  a  great  many  peo 
ple,"  she  cried.  "  I  know  that  it  is  all  a  part  of 
the  plot  against  my  father !  " 

I  gave  a  gasp  of  consternation  which  she  mis 
construed,  for  she  continued,  bitterly. 

235 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Oh,  I  know  everything,"  she  said.  "  Mr, 
Graham  has  told  me  all  that  you  mean  to  do.  I 
was  foolish  to  appeal  to  any  one  of  you.  You 
have  set  out  to  fight  my  father,  and  your  friends 
will  use  any  means  to  win.  But  I  should  have 
thought,"  she  cried,  her  voice  rising  and  ringing 
like  an  alarm,  "  that  they  would  have  stopped  at 
assassinating  his  son." 

I  stepped  back  from  her  as  though  she  had 
struck  at  me. 

"  Miss  Fiske,"  I  cried.  What  she  had  charged 
was  so  monstrous,  so  absurd  that  I  could  answer 
nothing  in  defence.  My  brain  refused  to  believe 
that  she  had  said  it.  I  could  not  conceive  that 
any  creature  so  utterly  lovely  could  be  so  unsee 
ing,  so  bitter,  and  so  unfair. 

Her  charge  was  ridiculous,  but  my  disappoint 
ment  in  her  was  so  keen  that  the  tears  came  to 
my  eyes. 

I  put  my  hat  back  on  my  head,  saluted  her 
and  passed  her  quickly. 

"  Captain  Macklin,"  she  cried.  "  What  is  it  *" 
What  have  I  said  ?  "  She  stretched  out  her  hand 
toward  me,  but  I  did  not  stop. 

"  Captain  Macklin  !  "  she  called  after  me  in 
such  a  voice  that  I  was  forced  to  halt  and  turn. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  "  she  demanded. 
**  Oh,  yes,  I  see,"  she  exclaimed.  "  I  see  how  it 

236 


Captain  Macklin 

sounded  to  you.  And  you  ? "  she  cried.  Her 
voice  was  trembling  with  concern.  "  Because  1 
said  that,  you  mean  to  punish  me  for  it — through 
my  brother?  You  mean  to  make  him  suffer. 
You  will  kill  him  !  "  Her  voice  rose  to  an  accent 
of  terror.  "  But  I  only  said  it  because  he  is  my 
brother,  my  own  brother.  Cannot  you  under 
stand  what  that  means  to  me  ?  Cannot  you 
understand  why  I  said  it  ?  " 

We  stood  facing  each  other,  I,  staring  at  her 
miserably,  and  she  breathing  quickly,  and  holding 
her  hand  to  her  side  as  though  she  had  been  run 
ning  a  long  distance. 

"  No,"  I  said  in  a  low  voice.  It  was  very  hard  for 
me  to  speak  at  all.  "  No,  I  cannot  understand.** 

I  pulled  off  my  hat  again,  and  stood  before  her 
crushing  it  in  my  hands. 

"  Why  didn't  you  trust  me  ?  "  I  said,  bitterly. 
"  How  could  you  doubt  what  I  would  do  ?  I 
trusted  you.  From  the  moment  you  came  riding 
toward  me,  I  thanked  God  for  the  sight  of  such  a 
woman.  For  making  anything  so  beautiful." 

I  stopped,  for  I  saw  I  had  again  offended.  At 
the  words  she  drew  back  quickly,  and  her  eyes 
shone  with  indignation.  She  looked  at  me  as 
though  I  had  tried  to  touch  her  with  my  hand. 
But  I  spoke  on  without  heeding  her.  I  repeated 
the  words  with  which  I  had  offended. 

227 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  "  I  thanked  God  for  anything 
so  noble  and  so  beautiful.  To  me,  you  could  do 
no  wrong.  But  you !  You  judged  me  before 
you  even  knew  my  name.  You  said  I  was  a  cad 
who  went  about  armed  to  fight  unarmed  men. 
To  you  I  was  a  coward  who  could  be  frightened 
off  by  a  tale  of  bulls-eyes,  and  broken  pipe-stems 
at  a  Paris  fair.  What  do  I  care  for  your  brother's 
tricks.  Let  him  see  my  score  cards  at  West 
Point.  He'll  find  them  framed  on  the  walls.  1 
was  first  a  coward  and  a  cad,  and  now  I  am  a 
bully  and  a  hired  assassin.  From  the  first,  you  and 
your  brother  have  laughed  at  me  and  mine  while 
all  I  asked  of  you  was  to  be  what  you  seemed 
to  be,  what  I  was  happy  to  think  you  were.  I 
wanted  to  believe  in  you.  Why  did  you  show 
me  that  you  can  be  selfish  and  unfeeling  ?  It  is 
you  who  do  not  understand.  You  understand  so 
little,"  I  cried,  "  that  I  pity  you  from  the  bottom 
of  my  heart.  I  give  you  my  word,  I  pity  you." 

"  Stop,"  she  commanded.  I  drew  back  and 
bowed,  and  we  stood  confronting  each  other  in 
silence. 

"  And  they  call  you  a  brave  man,"  she  said  at 
speaking  slowly  and  steadily,  as  though  she 
picking  each  word.  "  It  is  like  a  brave  man 
to  insult  a  woman,  because  she  wants  to  save  her 
brother's  life." 

238 


Captain  Macklin 

When  I  raised  my  face  it  was  burning,  as 
though  she  had  thrown  vitriol. 

"  If  I  have  insulted  you,  Miss  Fiske,"  I  said, 
"  if  I  have  ever  insulted  any  woman,  I  hope  to 
God  that  to-morrow  morning  your  brother  will 
kill  me." 

When  I  turned  and  looked  back  at  her  from 
the  door,  she  was  leaning  against  one  of  the  pillars 
with  her  face  bent  in  her  hands,  and  weeping  bit 
terly. 

I  rode  to  the  barracks  and  spent  several  hours 
in  writing  a  long  letter  to  Beatrice.  I  felt  a  great 
need  to  draw  near  to  her.  I  was  confused  and 
sore  and  unhappy,  and  although  nothing  of  this, 
nor  of  the  duel  appeared  in  my  letter,  I  was  com 
forted  to  think  that  I  was  writing  it  to  her.  It 
was  good  to  remember  that  there  was  such  a 
woman  in  the  world,  and  when  I  compared  her 
with  the  girl  from  whom  I  had  just  parted,  I 
laughed  out  loud. 

And  yet  I  knew  that  had  I  put  the  case  to 
Beatrice,  she  would  have  discovered  something 
to  present  in  favor  of  Miss  Fiske. 

"  She  was  pleading  for  her  brother,  and  she 
did  not  understand,"  Beatrice  would  have  said. 
But  in  my  own  heart  I  could  find  no  excuse. 
Her  family  had  brought  me  nothing  but  evil. 
Because  her  father  would  not  pay  his  debts,  I  had 

239 


Captain  Macklin 

been  twice  wounded  and  many  times  had  risked 
death ;  the  son  had  struck  me  with  a  whip  in  the 
public  streets,  and  the  sister  had  called  me  every 
thing  that  is  contemptible,  from  a  cad  to  a  hired 
cut-throat.  So,  I  was  done  with  the  house  of 
Fiske.  My  hand  was  against  it.  I  owed  it 
nothing. 

But  with  all  my  indignation  against  them,  for 
which  there  was  reason  enough,  I  knew  in  my 
heart  that  I  had  looked  up  to  them,  and  stood  in 
awe  of  them,  for  reasons  that  made  me  the  cad 
they  called  me.  Ever  since  my  arrival  in  Hon 
duras  I  had  been  carried  away  by  the  talk  of  the 
Fiske  millions,  and  later  by  the  beauty  of  the 
girl,  and  by  the  boy's  insolent  air,  of  what  I  ac 
cepted  as  good  breeding.  I  had  been  impressed 
with  his  five  years  in  Paris,  by  the  cut  of  his 
riding-clothes  even,  by  the  fact  that  he  owned  a 
yacht.  I  had  looked  up  to  them,  because  they 
belonged  to  a  class  who  formed  society,  as  I  knew 
society  through  the  Sunday  papers.  And  now 
these  superior  beings  had  rewarded  my  snobbish 
ness  by  acting  toward  me  in  a  way  that  was  con 
trary  to  every  ideal  I  held  of  what  was  right  and 
decent.  For  such  as  these,  I  had  felt  ashamed 
of  my  old  comrades.  It  was  humiliating,  but  it 
was  true ;  and  as  I  admitted  this  to  myself,  my 
cheeks  burned  in  the  darkness,  and  I  buried  my 

240 


Captain  Macklin 

face  in  the  pillow.  For  some  time  I  lay  awake 
debating  fiercely  in  my  mind  as  to  whether,  when 
I  faced  young  Fiske,  I  should  shoot  the  pistol 
out  of  his  hand,  or  fire  into  the  ground.  And  it 
was  not  until  I  had  decided  that  the  latter  act 
would  better  show  our  contempt  for  him  and  his 
insult,  that  I  fell  asleep. 

Von  Ritter  and  Miller  woke  me  at  four  o'clock. 
They  were  painfully  correct  and  formal.  Miller 
had  even  borrowed  something  of  the  Baron's 
manner,  which  sat  upon  him  as  awkwardly  as 
would  a  wig  and  patches.  I  laughed  at  them 
both,  but,  for  the  time  being,  they  had  lost  their 
sense  of  humor;  and  we  drank  our  coffee  in  a 
constrained  and  sleepy  silence. 

At  the  graveyard  we  found  that  Fiske,  his  two 
seconds,  Graham  and  Lowell,  the  young  Middy, 
and  a  local  surgeon  had  already  arrived.  We 
exchanged  bows  and  salutes  gloomily  and  the 
seconds  gathered  together,  and  began  to  talk  in 
hoarse  whispers.  It  was  still  very  dark.  The 
moon  hung  empty  and  pallid  above  the  cold  out 
line  of  the  hills,  and  although  the  roosters  were 
crowing  cheerfully,  the  sun  had  not  yet  risen. 
In  the  hollows  the  mists  lay  like  lakes,  and  every 
stone  and  rock  was  wet  and  shining  as  though  it 
had  been  washed  in  readiness  for  the  coming 
day.  The  gravestones  shone  upon  us  like  freshly 

241 


Captain  Macklin 

scrubbed  doorsteps  It  was  a  most  dismal  spot, 
and  I  was  so  cold  that  I  was  afraid  I  would  shiver, 
and  Fiske  might  think  I  was  nervous.  So  I 
moved  briskly  about  among  the  graves,  reading 
the  inscriptions  on  the  tombstones.  Under  the 
circumstances  the  occupation,  to  a  less  healthy 
mind,  would  have  been  depressing.  My  adver 
sary,  so  it  seemed  to  me,  carried  himself  with  a 
little  too  much  unconcern.  It  struck  me  that  he 
overdid  it.  He  laughed  with  the  local  surgeon, 
and  pointed  out  the  moon  and  the  lakes  of  mist 
as  though  we  had  driven  out  to  observe  the  view. 
I  could  not  think  of  anything  to  do  which  would 
show  that  I  was  unconcerned  too,  so  I  got  back 
into  the  carriage  and  stretched  my  feet  out  to  the 
seat  opposite,  and  continued  to  smoke  my  cigar. 

Incidentally,  by  speaking  to  Lowell,  I  hurt 
Von  Ritter's  feelings.  It  seems  that  as  one  of 
the  other  man's  seconds  I  should  have  been 
more  haughty  with  him.  But  when  he  passed 
me,  pacing  out  the  ground,  he  saluted  stiffly,  and 
as  I  saluted  back,  I  called  out :  "  I  suppose  you 
know  you'll  catch  it  if  they  find  out  about  this  at 
Washington  ?  "  And  he  answered,  with  a  grin : 
"  Yes,  I  know,  but  I  couldn't  get  out  of  it." 

"  Neither  could  I,"  I  replied,  cheerfully,  and 
in  so  loud  a  tone  that  everyone  heard  me.  Von 
Ritter  was  terribly  annoyed. 

242 


Captain   Macklin 

At  last  all  was  arranged  and  we  took  our  places. 
We  were  to  use  pistols  They  were  double- 
barrelled  affairs,  with  veiy  fine  hair- triggers. 
Graham  was  to  give  the  word  by  asking  if  we 
were  ready,  and  was  then  to  count  "  One,  two, 
three." 

After  the  word  ec  one  "  we  could  fire  when  we 
pleased.  When  each  of  us.  had  emptied  both 
barrels,  our  honor  was  supposed  to  be  satisfied. 

Young  Fiske  wore  a  blue  yachting  suit  with 
the  collar  turned  up,  and  no  white  showing  except 
his  face,  and  that  in  the  gray  light  of  the  dawn 
was  a  sickly  white,  like  the  belly  of  a  fish.  After 
he  had  walked  to  his  mark  he  never  took  his  eyes 
from  me.  They  seemed  to  be  probing  around 
under  my  uniform  for  the  vulnerable  spot.  I 
had  never  before  had  anyone  look  at  me,  who 
seemed  to  so  frankly  dislike  me. 

Curiously  enough,  I  kept  thinking  of  the  story 
of  the  man  who  boasted  he  was  so  good  a  shot 
that  he  could  break  the  stem  of  a  wine-glass,  and 
how  someone  said:  "Yes,  but  the  wine-glass 
isn't  holding  a  pistol."  Then,  while  I  was  smil 
ing  at  the  application  I  had  made  of  this  story  to 
my  scowling  adversary,  there  came  up  a  picture, 
not  of  home  and  of  Beatrice,  nor  of  my  past  sins, 
but  of  the  fellow's  sister  as  1  last  saw  her  in  the 
moonlight,  leaning  against  the  pillar  of  the  bal- 

243 


Captain  Macklin 

cony  with  her  head  bow  *d  in  her  hands.  And  at 
once  it  all  seemed  con'  ^mptible  and  cruel.  No 
quarrel  in  the  worldr  so  it  appeared  to  me  then, 
was  worth  while  if  it  were  going  to  make  a  woman 
suffer.  And  for  an  instant  I  was  so  indignant 
with  Fiske  for  having  dragged  me  into  this  one, 
to  feed  his  silly  vanity,  that  for  a  moment  I  felt 
like  walking  over  and  giving  him  a  sound  thrash 
ing.  But  at  the  instant  I  heard  Graham  demand, 
"  Are  you  ready  ? "  and  I  saw  Fiske  fasten  his 
eyes  on  mine,  and  nod  his  head.  The  moment 
had  come. 

"  One,"  Graham  counted,  and  at  the  word 
Fiske  threw  up  his  gun  and  fired,  and  the  ball 
whistled  past  my  ear.  My  pistol  was  still  hang 
ing  at  my  side,  so  I  merely  pulled  the  trigger, 
and  the  ball  went  into  the  ground.  But  instant 
ly  I  saw  my  mistake.  Shame  and  consternation 
were  written  on  the  faces  of  my  two  seconds,  and 
to  the  face  of  Fiske  there  came  a  contemptuous 
smile.  I  at  once  understood  my  error.  I  read 
what  was  in  the  mind  of  each.  They  dared  to 
think  I  had  pulled  the  trigger  through  nervous 
ness,  that  I  had  fired  before  I  was  ready,  that  I 
was  frightened  and  afraid.  I  am  sure  I  never 
was  so  angry  in  my  life,  and  I  would  have  cried 
out  to  them,  if  a  movement  on  the  part  of  Fiske 
had  not  sobered  me.  Still  smiling,  he  lifted  his 

244 


Captain  Macklin 

pistol  slightly  and  aimed  for,  so  it  seemed  to  me, 
some  seconds,  and  then  fired. 

I  felt  the  bullet  cut  the  lining  of  my  tunic  and 
burn  the  flesh  over  my  ribs,  and  the  warm  blood 
tickling  my  side,  but  I  was  determined  he  should 
not  know  he  had  hit  me,  and  not  even  my  lips 
moved. 

Then  a  change,  so  sudden  and  so  remarkable, 
came  over  the  face  of  young  Fiske,  that  its  very 
agony  fascinated  me.  At  first  it  was  incompre 
hensible,  and  then  I  understood.  He  had  fired 
his  last  shot,  he  thought  he  had  missed,  and  he 
was  waiting  for  me,  at  my  leisure,  to  kill  him  with 
my  second  bullet. 

I  raised  the  pistol,  and  it  was  as  though  you 
could  hear  the  silence.  Every  waking  thing 
about  us  seemed  to  suddenly  grow  still.  I 
brought  the  barrel  slowly  to  a  level  with  his 
knee,  raised  it  to  his  heart,  passed  it  over  his 
head,  and,  aiming  in  the  air,  fired  at  the  moon, 
and  then  tossed  the  gun  away.  The  waking 
world  seemed  to  breathe  again,  and  from  every 
side  there  came  a  chorus  of  quick  exclamations ; 
but  without  turning  to  note  who  made  them,  nor 
what  they  signified,  I  walked  back  to  the  car 
riage,  and  picked  up  my  cigar.  It  was  still  burn 
ing. 

Von  Ritter  ran  to  the  side  of  the  carriage. 
245 


Captain  Macklin 

"  You  must  wait,"  he  protested.  "  Mr.  Fiske 
wishes  to  shake  hands  with  you.  It  is  not  fin 
ished  yet." 

"  Yes,  it  is  finished,"  I  replied,  savagely.  "  I 
have  humored  you  two  long  enough.  A  pest  on 
both  your  houses.  I'm  going  back  to  break 
fast." 

Poor  Von  Ritter  drew  away,  deeply  hurt  and 
scandalized,  but  my  offence  was  nothing  to  the 
shock  he  received  when  young  Lowell  ran  to  the 
carriage  and  caught  up  my  hand.  He  looked  at 
me  with  a  smile  that  would  have  softened  a  Spanish 
duenna. 

"  See  here  !  "  he  cried.  "  Whether  you  like  it 
or  not,  you've  got  to  shake  hands  with  me.  I 
want  to  tell  you  that  was  one  of  the  finest  things 
I  ever  saw."  He  squeezed  my  fingers  until  the 
bones  crunched  together.  "I've  heard  a  lot  about 
you,  and  now  I  believe  all  I've  heard.  To  stand 
up  there,"  he  ran  on,  breathlessly,  "  knowing  you 
didn't  mean  to  fire,  and  knowing  he  was  a  dead 
shot,  and  make  a  canvas  target  of  yourself — that 
was  bully.  You  were  an  ass  to  do  it,  but  it  was 
great.  You  going  back  to  breakfast  ? "  he  de 
manded,  suddenly,  with  the  same  winning,  eager 
smile.  "  So  am  I.  I  speak  to  go  with  you." 

Before  I  could  reply  he  had  vaulted  into  the 
carriage,  and  was  shouting  at  the  driver. 

246 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Cochero,  to  the  Barracks.  Full  speed  ahead. 
Vamoose.  Give  way.  Allez  vite  !  " 

"  But  my  seconds,"  I  protested. 

"  They  can  walk,"  he  said. 

Already  the  horses  were  at  a  gallop,  and  as  we 
swung  around  the  wall  of  the  graveyard  and 
were  hidden  from  the  sight  of  the  others,  Lowell 
sprang  into  the  seat  beside  me.  With  the  quick 
fingers  of  the  sailor,  he  cast  off  my  sword-belt 
and  tore  open  my  blouse. 

"  I  wanted  to  get  you  away,"  he  muttered, 
"  before  he  found  out  he  had  hit  you." 

"  I'm  not  hit,"  I  protested. 

"  Just  as  you  like,"  he  said.  "  Still,  it  looks 
rather  damp  to  the  left  here." 

But,  as  I  knew,  the  bullet  had  only  grazed  me, 
and  the  laugh  of  relief  Lowell  gave  when  he 
raised  his  head,  and  said,  "  Why,  it's  only  a 
scratch,"  meant  as  much  to  me  as  though  he  had 
rendered  me  some  great  service.  For  it  seemed 
to  prove  a  genuine,  friendly  concern,  and  no  one, 
except  Laguerre,  had  shown  that  for  me  since  I 
had  left  home.  I  had  taken  a  fancy  to  Lowell 
from  the  moment  he  had  saluted  me  like  a 
brother  officer  in  the  Plaza,  and  I  had  wished  he 
would  like  me.  I  liked  him  better  than  any 
other  young  man  I  had  ever  met.  I  had  never 
had  a  man  for  a  friend,  but  before  we  had  finished 

247 


Captain  Macklin 

breakfast  I  believe  we  were  better  friends  than 
many  boys  who  had  lived  next  door  to  each  other 
from  the  day  they  were  babies. 

As  a  rule,  I  do  not  hit  it  off  with  men,  so  I  felt 
that  his  liking  me  was  a  great  piece  of  good  fort 
une,  and  a  great  honor.  He  was  only  three 
years  older  than  myself,  but  he  knew  much  more 
about  everything  than  I  did,  and  his  views  of 
things  were  as  fine  and  honorable  as  they  were 
amusing. 

Since  then  we  have  grown  to  be  very  close 
friends  indeed,  and  we  have  ventured  together 
into  many  queer  corners,  but  I  have  never 
ceased  to  admire  him,  and  I  have  always  found 
him  the  same  —  unconscious  of  himself  and 
sufficient  to  himself.  I  mean  that  if  he  were 
presented  to  an  Empress  he  would  not  be  im 
pressed,  nor  if  he  chatted  with  a  bar-maid  would 
he  be  familiar.  He  would  just  look  at  each  of 
them  with  his  grave  blue  eyes  and  think  only  of 
what  she  was  saying,  and  not  at  all  of  what  sort 
of  an  impression  he  was  making,  or  what  she 
thought  of  him.  Aiken  helped  me  a  lot  by  mak 
ing  me  try  not  to  be  like  Aiken ;  Lowell  helped 
me  by  making  me  wish  to  be  like  Lowell. 

We  had  a  very  merry  breakfast,  and  the  fact 
that  it  was  seven  in  the  morning  did  not  in  the 
least  interfere  with  our  drinking  each  other's 

248 


Captain  Macklin 


Aealth  in  a  quart  of  champagne.  Nearly  all  of 
our  officers  came  in  while  we  were  at  breakfast  to 
learn  if  I  were  still  alive,  and  Lowell  gave  them 
most  marvellous  accounts  of  the  affair,  sometimes 
representing  me  as  an  idiot  and  sometimes  as  an 
heroic  martyr. 

They  all  asked  him  if  he  thought  Fiske  had 
sufficient  influence  at  Washington  to  cause  the 
Government  to  give  him  the  use  of  the  Raleigh 
against  us,  but  he  would  only  laugh  and  shake 
his  head. 

Later,  to  Laguerre,  he  talked  earnestly  on  the 
same  subject,  and  much  to  the  point. 

The  news  of  the  duel  had  reached  the  palace 
at  eight  o'clock,  and  the  president  at  once  started 
for  the  barracks. 

We  knew  he  was  coming  when  we  heard  the 
people  in  the  cafes  shouting  "  Viva,"  as  they 
always  did  when  he  appeared  in  public,  and, 
though  I  was  badly  frightened  as  to  what  he 
would  say  to  me,  I  ran  to  the  door  and  turned 
out  the  guard  to  receive  him. 

He  had  put  on  one  of  the  foreign  uniforms  he 
was  entitled  to  wear — he  did  not  seem  to  fancy 
the  one  I  had  designed — and  as  he  rode  across 
the  Plaza  I  thought  I  had  never  seen  a  finer 
soldier.  Lowell  said  he  looked  like  a  field  mar 
shal  of  the  S'*"'*"1  Empire.  I  was  .glad  Lowell 

249 


Captain  Macklin 

had  come  to  the  door  with  me,  as  he  could  now 
see  for  himself  that  my  general  was  one  for  whom 
a  man  might  be  proud  to  fight  a  dozen  duels. 

The  president  gave  his  reins  to  an  orderly  and 
mounted  the  steps,  touching  his  chapeau  to  the 
salute  of  guard  and  the  shouting  citizens,  but  his 
eyes  were  fixed  sternly  on  me.  I  saw  that  he  was 
deeply  moved,  and  I  wished  fervently,  now  that 
it  was  too  late,  that  I  had  told  him  }f  the  street 
fight  at  the  time,  and  not  allowed  him  to  Lear  of 
it  from  others.  I  feared  the  worst.  I  was  pre 
pared  for  any  reproof,  any  punishment,  even  the 
loss  of  my  commission,  and  I  braced  myself  for 
his  condemnation. 

But  when  he  reached  the  top  step  where  I 
stood  at  salute,  although  I  was  inwardly  quaking, 
he  halted  and  his  lips  suddenly  twisted,  and  the 
tears  rushed  to  his  eyes. 

He  tried  to  speak,  but  made  only  a  choking, 
inarticulate  sound,  and  then,  with  a  quick  gest 
ure,  before  all  the  soldiers  and  all  the  people,  he 
caught  me  in  his  arms. 

"  My  boy,"  he  whispered,  "  my  boy  !  For 
you  were  lost,"  he  murmured,  "  and  have  re 
turned  to  me." 

I  heard  Lowell  running  away,  and  the  door  of 
the  guard-room  banging  behind  him.  I  heard 
the  cheers  of  the  people  who,  it  seems,  already 

250 


Captain  Macklin 


knew  of  the  duel  and  understood  the  tableau  on 
the  barrack  steps,  but  the  thought  that  Laguerre 
cared  for  me  even  as  a  son  made  me  deaf  to 
everything,  and  my  heart  choked  with  happiness. 

It  passed  in  a  moment,  and  in  manner  he  was 
once  more  my  superior  officer,  but  the  door  he 
had  opened  was  never  again  wholly  shut  to  me. 

In  the  guard-room  I  presented  Lowell  to  the 
president,  and  I  was  proud  to  see  the  respect 
with  which  Lowell  addressed  him.  At  the  first 
glance  they  seemed  to  understand  each  other,  and 
they  talked  together  as  simply  as  would  friends 
of  long  acquaintance. 

After  they  had  spoken  of  many  things,  La 
guerre  said :  Cf  Would  it  be  fair  for  me  to  ask 
you,  Mr.  Lowell,  what  instructions  the  United 
States  has  given  your  commanding  officer  in 
regard  to  our  government?" 

To  this  Lowell  answered :  "  All  I  know,  sir,  is 
that  when  we  arrived  at  Amapala,  Captain  Miller 
telegraphed  the  late  president,  Doctor  Alvarez, 
that  we  were  here  to  protect  American  interests. 
But  you  probably  know,"  he  added,  "  as  every 
one  else  does,  that  we  came  here  because  the 
Isthmian  Line  demanded  protection." 

"  Yes,  so  I  supposed,"  Laguerre  replied. 
"  But  I  understand  Mr.  Graham  has  said  that 
when  Mr.  Fiske  gives  the  word  Captain  Miller 

251 


Captain  Macklin 


will  land  your  marines  and  drive  us  out  of  the 
country." 

Lowell  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  frowned. 

"  Mr.  Graham — "  he  began,  "is  Mr.  Graham/' 
He  added  :  "  Captain  Miller  is  not  taking  orders 
from  civilians,  and  he  depends  on  his  own  sources 
for  information.  I  am  here  because  he  seat  n^ 
to  f  Go,  look,  see,'  and  report.  I  have  been  wip 
ing  him  ever  since  you  started  from  the  coasts 
and  since  you  became  president.  Your  censor 
has  very  kindly  allowed  me  to  use  our  cipher." 

I  laughed,  and  said :  "  We  court  investiga 
tion." 

"  Pardon  me,  sir,"  Lowell  answered,  earnestly, 
addressing  himself  to  Laguerre,  "  but  I  should 
think  you  would.  Why,"  he  exclaimed,  "  every 
merchant  in  the  city  has  told  me  he  considers  his 
interests  have  never  been  so  secure  as  since  you 
became  president.  It  is  only  the  Isthmian  Line 
that  wants  the  protection  of  our  ship.  The  for 
eign  merchants  are  not  afraid.  I  hate  it ! "  he 
cried,  "  I  hate  to  think  that  a  billionaire,  with  a 
pull  at  Washington,  can  turn  our  Jackies  into 
Janissaries.  Protect  American  interests ! "  he 
exclaimed,  indignantly,  "  protect  American  sharp 
ers  !  The  Isthmian  Line  has  no  more  right  to 
the  protection  of  our  Navy  than  have  the  debtors 
in  Ludlow  Street  Jail/' 

252 


Captain  Macklin 

Laguerre  sat  for  a  Jong  time  without  reply 
ing,  and  then  rose  and  bowed  to  Lowell  with 
great  courtesy. 

"  I  must  be  returning,"  he  said.  "  I  thank 
you,  sir,  for  your  good  opinion.  At  my  earliest 
convenience  I  shall  pay  my  respects  to  your  com 
manding  officer.  At  ten  o'clock,"  he  continued 
turning  to  me,  "  1  am  to  have  my  talk  with  Mr. 
Fiske.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  but  that  he 
will  see  the  justice  of  our  claim  against  his  com 
pany,  and  before  evening  I  am  sure  I  shall  be 
able  to  announce  throughout  the  republic  that  I 
have  his  guaranty  for  the  money.  Mr.  Fiske  is 
an  able,  upright  business  man,  as  well  as  a 
gentleman,  and  he  will  not  see  this  country 
robbed." 

He  shook  hands  with  us  and  we  escorted  him 
to  his  horse. 

I  always  like  to  remember  him  as  I  saw  him 
then,  in  that  gorgeous  uniform,  riding  away  under 
the  great  palms  of  the  Plaza,  with  the  tropical 
sunshine  touching  his  white  hair,  and  flashing 
upon  the  sabres  of  the  body-guard,  and  the 
people  running  from  every  side  of  the  square  to 
cheer  him. 

Two  hours  later,  when  I  had  finished  my 
"  paper  "  work  and  was  setting  forth  on  my  daily 
round.  Miller  came  galloping  up  to  the  barracks 

253 


Captain  Macklin 

and  flung  himself  out  of  the  saddle.  He  nodded 
to  Lowell,  and  pulled  me  roughly  to  one  side. 

"  The  talk  with  Fiske,"  he  whispered,  "  ended 
in  the  deuce  of  a  row.  Fiske  behaved  like  a 
mule.  He  told  Laguerre  that  the  original  charter 
of  the  company  had  been  tampered  with,  and 
that  the  one  Laguerre  submitted  to  him  was  a 
fake  copy.  And  he  ended  by  asking  Laguerre  to 
name  his  price  to  leave  them  alone." 

"  And  Laguerre  ?  " 

"  Well,  what  do  you  suppose,"  Miller  returned, 
3cornfully.  "  The  General  just  looked  at  him, 
and  then  picked  up  a  pen,  and  began  to  write, 
and  said  to  the  orderly,  '  Show  him  out.' 

" c  What's  that  ? '  Fiske  said.  And  Laguerre 
answered :  c  Merely  a  figure  of  speech ;  what  I 
really  meant  was  "  Put  him  out,"  or  "  throw  him 
out !  "  You  are  an  offensive  and  foolish  old  man. 
I,  the  President  of  this  country,  received  you  and 
conferred  with  you  as  one  gentleman  with  an 
other,  and  you  tried  to  insult  me.  You  are  either 
extremely  ignorant,  or  extremely  dishonest,  and  I 
shall  treat  with  you  no  longer.  Instead,  I  shall 
at  once  seize  every  piece  of  property  belonging  to 
your  company,  and  hold  it  until  you  pay  your 
debts.  Now  you  go,  and  congratulate  yourself 
that  when  you  tried  to  insult  me,  you  did  so  when 
you  were  under  my  roof,  at  my  invitation.' 

254 


Captain  Macklin 

Then  Laguerre  wired  the  commandantes  at  all 
the  seaports  to  seize  the  warehouses  and  officers 
of  the  Isthmian  Line,  and  even  its  ships,  and  to 
occupy  the  buildings  with  troops.  He  means 
business,"  Miller  cried,  jubilantly.  "  This  time 
it's  a  fight  to  a  finish.'* 

Lowell  had  already  sent  for  his  horse,  and  alto 
gether  we  started  at  a  gallop  for  the  palace.  At 
the  office  of  the  Isthmian  Line  we  were  halted  by 
a  crowd  so  great  that  it  blocked  the  street.  The 
doors  of  the  building  were  barred,  and  two  sentries 
were  standing  guard  in  front  of  it.  A  proclama 
tion  on  the  wall  announced  that,  by  order  of  the 
President,  the  entire  plant  of  the  Isthmian  Line 
had  been  confiscated,  and  that  unless  within  two 
weeks  the  company  paid  its  debts  to  the  govern 
ment,  the  government  would  sell  the  property  of 
the  company  until  it  had  obtained  the  money 
due  it. 

At  the  entrance  to  the  palace  the  sergeant  in 
charge  of  the  native  guard,  who  was  one  of  our 
men,  told  us  that  two  ships  of  the  Isthmian  Line 
had  been  caught  in  port  ;  one  at  Cortez  on  her 
way  to  Aspinwall,  and  one  at  Truxillo,  bound 
north.  The.  passengers  had  been  landed,  and 
were  to  remain  on  shore  as  guests  of  the  govern 
ment  until  they  could  be  transferred  to  another 


255 


Captain  Macklin 

Lowell's  face  as  he  heard  this  was  very  grave, 
and  he  shook  his  head. 

"  A  perfectly  just  reprisal,  if  you  ask  me,"  he 
said,  "  but  what  one  lonely  ensign  tells  you  in 
confidence,  and  what  Fiske  will  tell  the  State  De 
partment  at  Washington,  is  a  very  different  mat 
ter.  It's  a  good  thing,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a 
laugh,  tc  that  the  Raleigh's  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  Isthmus.  If  we  were  in  the  Caribbean,  they 
might  order  us  to  make  you  give  back  those 
ships.  As  it  is,  we  can't  get  marines  here  from 
the  Pacific  under  three  days.  So  I'd  better  start 
them  at  once,"  he  added,  suddenlyo  "  Good- 
by,  I  must  wire  the  Captain." 

"  Don't  let  the  United  States  Navy  do  any 
thing  reckless,"  I  said.  "  I'm  not  so  sure 
you  could  take  those  ships,  and  I'm  not  so  sure 
your  marines  can  get  here  in  three  days,  either,  or 
that  they  ever  could  get  here." 

Lowell  gave  a  shout  of  derision. 

"  What,"  he  cried,  "  you'd  fight  against  your 
country's  flag  ? " 

I  told  him  he  must  not  forget  that  at  West 
Point  they  had  decided  I  was  not  good  enough 
to  fight  for  my  country's  flag. 

"  We've  three  ships  of  our  own  now,"  I  added, 
with  a  grin.  "  How  would  you  like  to  be  Rear* 
Admiral  of  the  naval  forces  of  Honduras  ?  ** 

256 


Captain  Macklin 

Lowell  caught  up  his  reins  in  mock  terror. 

"What!"  he  cried.  "You'd  dare  to  bribe  an 
American  officer?  And  with  such  a  fat  bribe, 
too  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  A  Rear-Admiral  at  my 
age !  That's  dangerously  near  my  price.  I'm 
afraid  to  listen  to  you.  Good-by.''  He  waved 
his  hand  and  started  down  the  street.  "  Good-by, 
Satan,"  he  called  back  to  me,  and  I  laughed,  and 
he  rode  away. 

That  was  the  end  of  the  laughter,  of  the  jests, 
of  the  play-acting. 

After  that  it  was  grim,  grim,  bitter  and  miser 
able.  We  dogs  had  had  our  day.  We  soldiers 
of  either  fortune  had  tasted  our  cup  of  triumph, 
and  though  it  was  only  a  taste,  it  had  flown  to 
our  brains  like  heavy  wine,  and  the  headaches 
and  the  heartaches  followed  fast.  For  some  it 
was  more  than  a  heartache ;  to  them  it  brought 
the  deep,  drugged  sleep  of  Nirvana. 

The  storm  broke  at  the  moment  I  turned  from 
Lowell  on  the  steps  of  the  palace,  and  it  did  not 
cease,  for  even  one  brief  breathing  space,  until  we 
were  cast  forth,  and  scattered,  and  beaten. 

As  Lowell  left  me,  General  Laguerre,  with 
Aiken  at  his  side,  came  hurrying  down  the  hall 
of  the  palace.  The  President  was  walking  with 
his  head  bowed,  listening  to  Aiken,  who  was 
whispering  and  gesticulating  vehemently.  I  had 

257 


Captain  Macklin 

never   seen  him  so    greatly  excited.     When    he 
caught  sight  of  me  he  ran  forward. 

"  Here  he  is,"  he  cried.  "  Have  you  heard 
from  Heinze?"  he  demanded.  "  Has  he  asked  you 
to  send  him  a  native  regiment  to  Pecachua  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  he  wanted  natives  to  dig 
trenches.  I  sent  five  hundred  at  eight  this  morn- 
ing." 

Aiken  clenched  his  fingers.  It  was  like  the 
quick,  desperate  clutch  of  a  drowning  man. 

"  I'm  right,"  he  cried.  He  turned  upon  La- 
guerre.  "  Macklin  has  sent  them.  By  this  time 
our  men  are  prisoners." 

Laguerre  glanced  sharply  at  the  native  guard 
drawn  up  at  attention  on  either  side  of  us. 
"  Hush,"  he  said.  He  ran  past  us  down  the 
steps,  and  halting  when  he  reached  the  street, 
turned  and  looked  up  at  the  great  bulk  of  El 
Pecachua  that  rose  in  the  fierce  sunlight,  calm 
and  inscrutable,  against  the  white,  glaring  masses 
of  the  clouds. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  I  whispered. 

"  Heinze ! "  Aiken  answered,  savagely. 
"  Heinze  has  sold  them  Pecachua." 

I  cried  out,  but  again  Laguerre  commanded 
silence.  "  You  do  not  know  that,"  he  said ; 
but  his  voice  trembled,  and  his  face  was  drawn  in 
lines  of  deep  concern. 

258 


Captain  Macklin 

"  I  warned  you  !  "  Aiken  cried,  roughly.  "  1 
warned  you  yesterday ;  I  told  you  to  send  Mack 
lin  to  Pecachua." 

He  turned  on  me  and  held  me  by  the  sleeve, 
but  like  Laguerre  he  still  continued  to  look  fear 
fully  toward  the  mountain. 

"  They  came  to  me  last  night,  Graham  came  to 
me,"  he  whispered.  "  He  offered  me  ten  thou 
sand  dollars  gold,  and  I  did  not  take  it."  In  his 
wonder  at  his  own  integrity,  in  spite  of  the  ex 
citement  which  shook  him,  Aiken's  face  for  an 
instant  lit  with  a  weak,  gratified  smile.  "  I  pre 
tended  to  consider  it,"  he  went  on,  "  and  sent  an 
other  of  my  men  to  Pecachua.  He  came  back 
an  hour  ago.  He  tells  me  Graham  offered 
Heinze  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  buy  off  him 
self  and  the  other  officers  and  the  men.  But 
Heinze  was  afraid  of  the  others,  and  so  he 
planned  to  ask  Laguerre  for  a  native  regiment, 
to  pretend  that  he  wanted  them  to  work  on  the 
trenches.  And  then,  when  our  men  were  lying 
about,  suspecting  nothing,  the  natives  should  fall 
on  them  and  tie  them,  or  shoot  them,  and  then 
turn  the  guns  on  the  city.  And  he  has  sent  for 
the  niggars  !  "  Aiken  cried.  "  And  there's  not 
one  of  them  that  wouldn't  sell  you  out.  They're 
there  now ! "  he  cried,  shaking  his  hand  at  the 
mountain.  "  1  warned  you  !  I  warned  you  J  " 

259 


Captain  Macklin 

Incredible  as  it  seemed,  difficult  as  it  was  to 
believe  such  baseness,  I  felt  convinced  that  Aiken 
spoke  the  truth.  The  thought  sickened  me,  but 
I  stepped  over  to  Laguerre  and  saluted. 

"  I  can  assemble  the  men  in  half  an  hour,"  I 
said.  "  We  can  reach  the  base  of  the  rock  an 
hour  later." 

"  But  if  it  should  not  be  true,"  Laguerre  pro 
tested.  "  The  insult  to  Heinze " 

"  Heinze !  "  Aiken  shouted,  and  broke  into  a 
volley  of  curses.  But  the  oaths  died  in  his  throat. 
We  heard  a  whirr  of  galloping  hoofs  ;  a  man's 
voice  shrieking  to  his  horse ;  the  sounds  of  many- 
people  running,  and  one  of  my  scouts  swept  into 
the  street,  and  raced  toward  us.  He  fell  off  at 
our  feet,  and  the  pony  rolled  upon  its  head,  its 
flanks  heaving  horribly  and  the  blood  spurting 
from  its  nostrils. 

"  Garcia  and  Alvarez !  **  the  man  panted. 
"  They're  making  for  the  city.  They  tried  to  fool 
us.  They  left  their  tents  up,  and  fires  burning, 
and  started  at  night,  but  I  smelt  'em  the  moment 
they  struck  the  trail.  We  fellows  have  been  on 
their  flanks  since  sun-up,  picking  'em  off  at  long 
range,  but  we  can't  hold  them.  They'll  be  here 
in  two  hours." 

"  Now,  will  you  believe  me  ?  "  Aiken  shouted. 
"That's  their  plot.  They're  working  together, 

260 


Captain  Macklin 

They  mean  to  trap  us  on  every  side.  Ah !  *'  he 
cried.  "  Look !  " 

I  knew  the  thing  at  which  he  wished  me  to 
look.  His  voice  and  my  dread  told  me  at  what 
his  arm  was  pointing. 

I  raised  my  eyes  fearfully  to  El  Pecachua. 
From  its  green  crest  a  puff  of  smoke  was  swelling 
into  a  white  cloud,  the  cloud  was  split  with  a  flash 
of  flame,  and  the  dull  echo  of  the  report  drifted 
toward  us  on  the  hot,  motionless  air.  At  the 
same  instant  our  flag  on  the  crest  of  Pecachua, 
the  flag  with  the  five-pointed,  blood-red  star, 
came  twitching  down  ;  and  a  shell  screeched  and 
broke  above  us. 

Now  that  he  knew  the  worst,  the  doubt  and 
concern  on  the  face  of  General  Laguerre  fell  from 
it  like  a  mask. 

"  We  have  no  guns  that  will  reach  the  moun 
tain,  have  we?  "  he  asked.  He  spoke  as  calmly 
as  though  we  were  changing  guard. 

"  No,  not  one,"  I  answered.  "  All  our  heavy 
pieces  are  on  Pecachua." 

"  Then  we  must  take  it  by  assault,"  he  said. 
**  We  will  first  drive  Garcia  back,  and  then  we 
will  storm  the  hill,  or  starve  them  out.  Assem 
ble  all  the  men  at  the  palace  at  once.  Trust  to 
no  one  but  yourself.  Ride  to  every  outpost  and 
order  them  here.  Send  Von  Ritter  and  the  gat- 

261 


Captain  Macklin 

lings  to  meet  Alvarez.  This  man  will  act  as  his 
guide." 

He  turned  to  the  scout.  "  You  will  find  my 
horse  in  the  court-yard  of  the  palace,"  he  said  to 
him.  "  Take  it,  and  accompany  Captain  Mack 
lin.  Tell  Von  Ritter,"  he  continued,  turning  to 
me,  "  not  to  expose  his  men,  but  to  harass  the 
enemy,  and  hold  him  until  I  come."  His  tone 
was  easy,  confident,  and  assured.  Even  as  I 
listened  to  his  command  I  marvelled  at  the  ra 
pidity  with  which  his  mind  worked,  how  he  rose 
to  an  unexpected  situation,  and  met  unforeseen 
difficulties. 

"That  is  all,"  he  said.  «I  will  expect  the 
men  here  in  half  an  hour." 

He  turned  from  me  calmly.  As  he  re-entered 
the  palace  between  the  lines  of  the  guard  he 
saluted  as  punctiliously  as  though  he  were  on  his 
way  to  luncheon. 

But  no  one  else  shared  in  his  calmness.  The 
bursting  shells  had  driven  the  people  from  their 
houses,  and  they  were  screaming  through  the 
streets,  as  though  an  earthquake  had  shaken  the 
city.  Even  the  palace  was  in  an  uproar. 

The  scout,  as  he  entered  it,  shouting  for  the 
President's  horse,  had  told  the  story  to  our  men, 
and  they  came  running  to  the  great  doors,  fasten 
ing  their  accoutrements  as  they  ran.  Outside, 

262 


Captain  Macklin 

even  as  Laguerre  had  been  speaking,  the  people 
had  gathered  in  a  great  circle,  whispering  and 
gesticulating,  pointing  at  us,  at  the  dying  horse, 
at  the  shells  that  swung  above  us,  at  the  flag  of 
Alvarez  which  floated  from  Pecachua.  When  I 
spurred  my  horse  forward,  with  the  scout  at  my 
side,  there  was  a  sullen  silence.  The  smiles,  the 
raised  hats,  the  cheers  were  missing,  and  I  had 
but  turned  my  back  on  them  when  a  voice  shouted, 
"Viva  Alvarez!" 

I  swung  in  my  saddle,  and  pulled  out  my 
sword.  I  thought  it  was  only  the  bravado  of 
some  impudent  fellow  who  needed  a  lesson. 

But  it  was  a  signal,  for  as  I  turned  I  saw  the 
native  guard  spring  like  one  man  upon  our  ser 
geant  and  drive  their  bayonets  into  his  throat. 
He  went  down  with  a  dozen  of  the  dwarf-like 
negroes  stabbing  and  kicking  at  him,  and  the 
mob  ran  shrieking  upon  the  door  of  the  palace. 

On  the  instant  I  forgot  everything  except  La 
guerre.  1  had  only  one  thought,  to  get  to  him, 
to  place  myself  at  his  side. 

I  pushed  my  horse  among  the  people,  beating 
at  the  little  beasts  with  my  sword.  But  the  voice 
I  knew  best  of  all  called  my  name  from  just 
above  my  head,  and  I  looked  up  and  saw  La 
guerre  with  Aiken  and  Webster  on  the  iron  bal 
cony  of  the  palace. 

263 


Captain  Macklin 

Laguerre's  face  was  white  and  set. 

"  Captain  Macklin  I "  he  cried.  "  What  does 
this  mean?  Obey  your  orders.  You  have  my 
orders.  Obey  my  orders." 

"  I  can't/'  I  cried.  "  This  is  an  attack  upon 
you  !  They  will  kill  you  !  " 

At  the  moment  I  spoke  our  men  fired  a  scat 
tering  volley  at  the  mob,  and  swung  to  the  great 
gates.  The  mob  answered  their  volley  with  a 
dozen  pistol-shots,  and  threw  itself  forward.  Still 
looking  up,  I  saw  Laguerre  clasp  his  hands  to 
his  throat,  and  fall  back  upon  Webster's  shoulder, 
but  he  again  instantly  stood  upright  and  motioned 
me  fiercely  with  his  arm.  "  Go,"  he  cried.  "  Bring 
the  gatlings  here,  and  all  the  men.  If  you  delay 
we  lose  the  palace.  Obey  my  orders,"  he  again 
commanded,  with  a  second  fierce  gesture. 

The  movement  was  all  but  fatal.  The  wound 
in  his  throat  tore  apart,  his  head  fell  forward  and 
his  eyes  closed.  I  saw  the  blood  spreading  and  dye 
ing  the  gold  braid.  But  he  straightened  himself 
and  leaned  forward.  His  eyes  opened,  and,  hold 
ing  himself  erect  with  one  hand  on  the  railing  of 
the  balcony,  he  stretched  the  other  over  me,  as 
though  in  benediction. 

"Go,  Royal!"  he  cried,  "and— God  bless 
you ! " 


264. 


VI 


I  BENT  my  head  and  drove  my  spurs  into 
my  horse.  I  did  not  know  where  he  was 
carrying  me.  My  eyes  were  shut  with  tears,  and 
with  the  horror  of  what  I  had  witnessed.  I  was 
reckless,  mad,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  filled 
with  hate  against  my  fellow-men.  I  rode  a  hun 
dred  yards  before  I  heard  the  scout  at  my  side 
shouting,  "  To  the  right,  Captain,  to  the  right." 

At  the  word  I  pulled  on  my  rein,  and  we 
turned  into  the  Plaza. 

The  scout  was  McGraw,  the  Kansas  cowboy, 
who  had  halted  Aiken  and  myself  the  day  we  first 
met  with  the  filibusters.  He  was  shooting  from 
the  saddle  as  steadily  as  other  men  would  shoot 
with  a  rest,  and  each  time  he  fired,  he  laughed. 
The  laugh  brought  me  back  to  the  desperate 
need  of  our  mission.  I  tricked  myself  into  be 
lieving  that  Laguerre  was  not  seriously  wound 
ed.  I  persuaded  myself  that  by  bringing  him  aid 
quickly  I  was  rendering  him  as  good  service  as  1 
might  have  given  had  I  remained  at  his  side.  1 
shut  out  the  picture  of  him,  faint  and  bleeding, 
and  opened  my  eyes  to  the  work  before  us. 

We  were  like  the  lost  dogs  on  a  race-course 
265 


Captain  Macklin 

that  run  between  lines  of  hooting  men.  On  every 
side  we  were  assailed  with  cries.  Even  the  voices 
of  women  mocked  at  us.  Men  sprang  at  my 
bridle,  and  my  horse  rode  them  down.  They 
shot  at  us  from  the  doors  of  the  cafes,  from  either 
curbstone.  As  we  passed  the  barracks  even  the 
men  of  my  own  native  regiment  raised  their  rifles 
and  fired. 

The  nearest  gun  was  at  the  end  of  the  Calle 
Bogran,  and  we  raced  down  it,  each  with  his 
revolver  cocked,  and  held  in  front  of  him. 

But  before  we  reached  the  outpost  I  saw  the 
men  who  formed  it,  pushing  their  way  toward  us, 
bunched  about  their  gatling  with  their  clubbed 
rifles  warding  off  the  blows  of  a  mob  that  struck 
at  them  from  every  side.  They  were  ignorant  of 
what  had  transpired  ;  they  did  not  know  who 
was,  or  who  was  not  their  official  enemy,  and  they 
were  unwilling  to  fire  upon  the  people,  who  a. 
moment  before,  before  the  flag  of  Alvarez  had 
risen  on  Pecachua,  had  been  their  friends  and 
comrades.  These  friends  now  beset  them  like  a 
pack  of  wolves.  They  hung  upon  their  flanks 
and  stabbed  at  them  from  the  front  and  rear. 
The  air  was  filled  with  broken  tiles  from  the 
roofs,  and  with  flying  paving-stones. 

When  the  men  saw  us  they  raised  a  broken 
cheer. 

266 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Open  that  gun  on  them  I "  I  shouted. 
"  Clear  the  street,  and  push  your  gun  to  the 
palace.  Laguerre  is  there.  Kill  every  man  in 
this  street  if  you  have  to,  but  get  to  the  palace." 

The  officer  in  charge  fought  his  way  to  my 
side.  He  was  covered  with  sweat  and  blood. 
He  made  a  path  for  himself  with  his  bare  arms. 

"  What  in  hell  does  this  mean,  Macklin  ? "  he 
shouted.  "  Who  are  we  fighting  ?  " 

"  You  are  fighting  every  native  you  see,"  I 
ordered.  "  Let  loose  up  this  street.  Get  to  the 
paiace ! " 

I  rode  on  to  the  rear  of  the  gun,  and  as 
McGraw  and  I  raced  on  toward  the  next  post, 
we  heard  it  stabbing  the  air  with  short,  vicious 
blows. 

At  the  same  instant  the  heavens  shook  with  a 
clap  of  thunder,  the  sky  turned  black,  and  with 
the  sudden  fierceness  of  the  tropics,  heavy  drops 
of  rain  began  to  beat  upon  us,  and  to  splash  in 
the  dust  like  hail. 

A  moment  later  and  the  storm  burst  upon  the 
city.  The  streets  were  swept  with  great  sheets  of 
water,  torrents  flowed  from  the  housetop,  the 
skies  darkened  to  ink,  or  were  ripped  asunder  by 
vivid  flashes,  and  the  thunder  rolled  unceasingly. 
We  were  half  drowned,  as  though  we  were 
dragged  through  a  pond,  and  our  ponies  bowed 

267 


Captain  Macklin 

and  staggered  before  the  double  onslaught  of 
wind  and  water.  We  bent  our  bodies  to  theirs, 
and  lashed  them  forward. 

The  outpost  to  which  we  were  now  riding  was 
stationed  at  the  edge  of  the  city  where  the  Calle 
Morizan  joins  the  trail  to  San  Lorenzo  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  As  we  approached  it  I  saw  a  num 
ber  of  mounted  men,  surrounding  a  closed  car 
riage.  They  were  evidently  travellers  starting 
forth  on  the  three  days'  ride  to  San  Lorenzo,  to 
cross  to  Amapala,  where  the  Pacific  Mail  takes 
on  her  passengers.  They  had  been  halted  by 
our  sentries.  As  I  came  nearer  I  recognized, 
through  the  mist  of  rain,  Joseph  Fiske,  young 
Fiske,  and  a  group  of  the  Isthmian  men.  The 
storm,  or  the  bursting  shells,  had  stampeded 
their  pack-train,  and  a  dozen  frantic  Mozos  were 
rounding  up  the  mules  and  adding  their  shrieks 
and  the  sound  of  their  falling  whips  to  the  tumult 
of  the  storm. 

I  galloped  past  them  to  where  our  main  guard 
were  lashing  the  canvas-cover  to  their  gun,  and 
ordered  them  to  unstrap  it,  and  fight  their  way  to 
the  palace. 

As  I  turned  again  the  sentry  called  :  "  Am  I 
to  let  these  people  go  ?  They  have  no  passes." 

I  halted,  and  Joseph  Fiske  raised  his  heavy 
eyelids,  and  blinked  at  me  like  a  huge  crocodile, 

268 


Captain  Macklin 

I  put  a  restraint  upon  myself  and  moved  toward 
him  with  a  confident  smile.  I  could  not  bear  to 
have  him  depart,  thinking  he  went  in  triumph.  I 
looked  the  group  over  carefully  and  said :  "  Cer 
tainly,  let  them  pass,"  and  Fiske  and  some  of  the 
Isthmian  men,  who  appeared  ashamed,  nodded  at 
me  sheepishly. 

But  one  of  them,  who  was  hidden  by  the  car 
riage,  called  out:  "You'd  better  come,  too; 
your  ship  of  state  is  getting  water-logged." 

I  made  no  sign  that  I  heard  him,  but  McGraw 
instantly  answered,  "  Yes,  it  looks  so.  The  rats 
are  leaving  it ! " 

At  that  the  man  called  back  tauntingly  the  old 
Spanish  proverb :  "He  who  takes  Pecachua, 
sleeps  in  the  palace."  McGraw  did  not  under 
stand  Spanish,  and  looked  at  me  appealingly,  and 
I  retorted,  "  We've  altered  that,  sir.  The  man 
who  sleeps  in  the  palace  will  take  Pecachua  to 
night." 

And  McGraw  added :  "  Yes,  and  he  won't  take 
it  with  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  either." 

I  started  away,  beckoning  to  McGraw,  but, 
as  we  moved,  Mr.  Fiske  pushed  his  pony  for 
ward. 

"  Can  you  give  me  a  pass,  sir? "  he  asked.  He 
shouted  the  words,  for  the  roaring  of  the  storm 
drowned  all  ordinary  sounds.  "  In  case  I  meet 

269 


Captain  Macklin 

with  more  of  your  men,  can  you  give  me  a  written 
pass  ?  " 

I  knew  that  the  only  men  of  ours  still  outside 
of  the  city  were  a  few  scouts,  but  I  could  not  let 
Fiske  suspect  that,  so  I  whipped  out  my  note 
book  and  wrote : 

"  To  commanders  of  all  military  posts  :  Pass 
bearer,  Joseph  Fiske,  his  family,  servants,  and 
baggage- train. 

"  ROYAL  MACKLIN, 
"  Vice-President  of  Honduras" 

I  tore  out  the  page  and  gave  it  him,  and  he 
read  it  carefully  and  bowed. 

"  Does  this  include  my  friends  ? "  he  asked, 
nodding  toward  the  Isthmian  men. 

"You  can  pass  them  off  as  your  servants,"  I 
answered,  and  he  smiled  grimly. 

The  men  had  formed  around  the  gun,  and  if 
was  being  pushed  toward  me,  but  as  I  turned  to 
meet  it  I  was  again  halted,  this  time  by  young 
Fiske,  who  rode  his  horse  in  front  of  mine,  and 
held  out  his  hand. 

"  You  must  shake  hands  with  me ! "  he  cried.. 
"  I  acted  like  a  cad.*'  He  bent  forward,  raising 
his  other  arm  to  shield  his  face  from  the  storm. 
*'  I  say,  I  acted  like  a  cad,"  he  shouted,  "  and  I 
ask  your  pardon." 

370 


Captain  Macklin 


1  took  his  hand  and  nodded.  At  the  same 
moment  as  we  held  each  other's  hands  the  window 
of  the  carriage  was  pushed  down  and  his  sister 
leaned  out  and  beckoned  to  me.  Her  face,  beaten 
by  the  rain,  and  with  her  hair  blown  across  it,  was 
filled  with  distress. 

"  I  want  to  thank  you,"  she  cried.  **  Thank 
you,"  she  repeated,  "  for  my  brother.  I  thank 
you.  I  wanted  you  to  know." 

She  stretched  out  her  hand  and  I  took  it,  and 
released  it  instantly,  and  as  she  withdrew  her  face 
from  the  window  of  the  carriage,  I  dug  my  spurs 
into  my  pony  and  galloped  on  with  the  gun. 

What  followed  is  all  confused. 

I  remember  that  we  reached  the  third  and  last 
post  just  after  the  men  had  abandoned  it,  but 
that  we  overtook  them,  and  with  them  fought 
our  way  through  the  streets.  But  through  what 
streets,  or  how  long  it  took  us  to  reach  the 
palace  I  do  not  know.  No  one  thing  is  very 
clear  to  me.  Even  the  day  after,  1  remembered 
it  only  as  a  bad  dream,  in  which  I  saw  innumer 
able,  dark-skinned  faces  pressing  upon  me  with 
open  mouths,  and  white  eyeballs ;  lit  by  gleams 
of  lightning  and  flashes  of  powder.  I  remember 
going  down  under  my  pony  and  thinking  how 
cool  and  pleasant  it  was  in  the  wet  mud,  and  of 
being  thrown  back  on  him  agaJn  a?  though  )  were 

271 


Captain  Macklin 

a  pack-saddle,  and  I  remember  wiping  the  rain 
out  of  my  eyes  with  a  wet  sleeve,  and  finding  the 
sleeve  warm  with  blood.  And  then  there  was  a 
pitchy  blackness  through  which  I  kept  striking  at 
faces  that  sprang  out  of  the  storm,  faces  that 
when  they  were  beaten  down  were  replaced  by 
other  faces ;  drunken,  savage,  exulting.  I  re 
member  the  ceaseless  booming  of  the  thunder 
that  shook  the  houses  like  an  earthquake,  the 
futile  popping  of  revolvers,  the  whining  shells 
overhead,  the  cries  and  groans,  the  Spanish  oaths, 
and  the  heavy  breathing  of  my  men  about  me, 
and  always  just  in  front  of  us,  the  breathless  whir 
of  the  gatling. 

After  that  the  next  I  remember  I  was  inside 
the  palace,  and  breaking  holes  in  the  wall  with 
an  axe.  Some  of  my  men  took  the  axe  from  me, 
and  said:  "He's  crazy,  clean  crazy,"  and  Van 
Ritter  and  Miller  fought  with  me,  and  held  me 
down  upon  a  cot.  From  the  cot  I  watched  the 
others  making  more  holes  in  the  wall,  through 
which  they  shoved  their  rifles  and  then  there  was 
a  great  cheer  outside,  and  a  man  came  running  in 
crying,  "  Alvarez  and  Heinze  are  at  the  corner 
with  the  twelve-pounders ! "  Then  our  men 
cursed  like  fiends,  and  swept  out  of  the  room, 
and  as  no  one  remained  to  hold  me  down,  I 
stumbled  after  them  into  the  big  reception-hall, 

272 


Captain  Macklin 

and  came  upon  Laguerre,  lying  rigid  and  still 
upon  a  red-silk  sofa.  I  thought  he  was  dead,  and 
screamed,  and  at  that  they  seized  me  again  and 
hustled  me  back  to  the  cot,  telling  me  that  he  was 
not  dead,  but  that  at  any  moment  he  might  die, 
and  that  if  I  did  not  rest,  I  would  die  also. 

When  I  came  to,  it  was  early  morning,  and 
through  the  holes  in  the  plaster  wall  I  could  see 
the  stars  fading  before  the  dawn.  The  gatlings 
were  gone  and  the  men  were  gone,  and  I  was 
wondering  if  they  had  deserted  me,  when  Von 
Ritter  came  back  and  asked  if  I  were  strong 
enough  to  ride,  and  1  stood  up  feeling  dizzy  and 
very  weak.  But  my  head  was  clear  and  I  could 
understand  what  he  said  to  me.  Of  the  whole  of 
the  Foreign  Legion  only  thirty  were  left.  Miller 
was  killed,  Russell  was  killed  and  old  man  Web 
ster  was  killed.  They  told  me  how  they  had 
caught  him  when  he  made  a  dash  to  the  barracks 
for  ammunition,  and  how,  from  the  roof,  our  men 
had  seen  them  place  him  against  the  iron  railings 
of  the  University  Gardens.  There  he  died,  as 
his  hero,  William  Walker,  had  died,  on  the  soil 
of  the  country  he  had  tried  to  save  from  itself, 
with  his  arms  behind  him,  and  his  blindfolded 
eyes  turned  upon  a  firing-squad. 

McGraw  had  been  killed  as  he  rode  beside  me, 
holding  me  in  the  saddle.  That  hurt  me  worse 

273 


Captain  Macklin 

than  all.  They  told  me  a  blow  from  behind  had 
knocked  me  over,  and  though,  of  that,  I  could 
remember  nothing,  I  could  still  feel  McGraw's 
arm  pressing  my  ribs,  and  hear  his  great  foolish 
laugh  in  my  ears. 

They  helped  me  out  into  the  court-yard, 
where  the  men  stood  in  a  hollow  square,  with  La- 
guerre  on  a  litter  in  the  centre,  and  with  the  four 
gatlings  at  each  corner.  The  wound  was  in  his 
throat,  so  he  could  not  speak,  but  when  they  led 
me  down  into  the  Patio  he  raised  his  eyes  and 
smiled.  I  tried  to  smile  back,  but  his  face  was  so 
white  and  drawn  that  I  had  to  turn  away,  that  he 
might  not  see  me  crying. 

There  was  much  besides  to  make  one  weep. 
We  were  running  away.  We  were  abandoning 
the  country  to  which  some  of  us  had  come  to 
better  their  fortunes,  to  which  others  had  come 
that  they  might  set  the  people  free.  We  were 
being  driven  out  of  it  by  the  very  men  for  whom 
we  had  risked  our  lives.  Some  among  us,  the 
reckless,  the  mercenary,  the  adventurers,  had 
played  like  gamblers  for  a  stake,  and  had  lost. 
Others,  as  they  thought,  had  planned  wisely  for 
the  people's  good,  had  asked  nothing  in  return 
but  that  they  might  teach  them  to  rule  them 
selves.  But  they,  too,  had  lost,  and  because 
they  had  lost,  they  were  to  pay  the  penalty. 

274 


Captain  Macklin 

Within  the  week  the  natives  had  turned  from 
us  to  the  painted  idols  of  their  jungle,  and  the 
new  gods  toward  whom  they  had  wavered  were  to 
be  sacrificed  on  the  altars  of  the  old.  They  were 
waiting  only  until  the  sun  rose  to  fall  upon  our 
little  garrison  and  set  us  up  against  the  barrack 
wall,  as  a  peace  offering  to  their  former  masters. 
Only  one  chance  remained  to  us.  If,  while  it 
were  still  night,  we  could  escape  from  the  city  to 
the  hills,  we  might  be  able  to  fight  our  way  to  the 
Pacific  side,  and  there  claim  the  protection  of  our 
war-ship. 

It  was  a  forlorn  hope,  but  we  trusted  to  the 
gatlings  to  clear  a  road  for  us,  and  there  was  no 
other  way. 

So  just  before  the  dawn,  silently  and  stealthily 
the  President  and  the  Cabinet,  and  all  that  was 
ieft  of  the  Government  and  Army  of  General 
Laguerre,  stole  out  of  his  palace  through  a  hole 
in  the  courtyard-wall. 

We  were  only  a  shadowy  blot  in  the  darkness, 
but  the  instant  we  reached  the  open  street  they 
saw  us  and  gave  cry. 

From  behind  the  barriers  they  had  raised  to 
shut  off  our  escape,  fiom  the  house-tops,  and 
from  the  darkened  windows,  they  opened  fire  with 
rifle  and  artillery.  But  our  men  had  seen  the 
dead  faces  of  their  leaders  and  comrades,  and  they 

275 


Captain  Macklin 

were  frantic,  desperate.  They  charged  like  mad 
men.  Nothing  could  hold  them.  Our  wedge 
swept  steadily  forward,  and  the  guns  sputtered 
from  the  front  and  rear  and  sides,  flashing  and 
illuminating  the  night  like  a  war-ship  in  action. 

They  drove  our  enemies  from  behind  the  bar 
ricades,  and  cleaned  the  street  beyond  it  to  the 
bridge,  and  then  swept  the  bridge  itself.  We 
could  hear  the  splashes  when  the  men  who  held 
it  leaped  out  of  range  of  the  whirling  bullets  into 
the  stream  below. 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  we  were  running  swiftly 
through  the  sleeping  suburbs,  with  only  one  of  our 
guns  barking  an  occasional  warning  at  the  ghostly 
figures  in  our  rear. 

We  made  desperate  progress  during  the  dark 
hours  of  the  morning,  but  when  daylight  came  we 
were  afraid  to  remain  longer  on  the  trail,  and 
turned  off  into  the  forest.  And  then,  as  the  sun 
grew  stronger,  our  endurance  reached  its  limit, 
and  when  they  called  a  halt  our  fellows  dropped 
where  they  stood,  and  slept  like  dead  men.  But 
they  could  not  sleep  for  long.  We  all  knew  that 
our  only  chance  lay  in  reaching  San  Lorenzo,  on 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Once  there,  we  were  confi 
dent  that  the  war-ship  would  protect  us,  and  her 
surgeons  save  our  wounded.  By  the  trail  and 
unmolested,  we  could  have  reached  it  in  three 

276 


Captain  Macklin 

days,  but  in  the  jungle  we  were  forced  to  cut  our 
way  painfully  and  slowly,  and  at  times  we  did  not 
know  whether  we  were  moving  toward  the  ocean 
or  had  turned  back  upon  the  capital. 

I  do  not  believe  that  slaves  hunted  through  a 
swamp  by  blood-hounds  have  ever  suffered  more 
keenly  than  did  the  survivors  of  the  Foreign 
Legion.  Of  our  thirty  men,  only  five  were  un- 
wounded.  Even  those  who  carried  Laguerre 
wore  blood-stained  bandages.  All  were  starving, 
and  after  the  second  day  of  hiding  in  swamps  and 
fording  mountain-streams,  half  of  our  little  band 
was  sick  with  fever.  We  lived  on  what  we  found 
in  the  woods,  or  stole  from  the  clearing,  on  plants, 
and  roots,  and  fruit.  We  were  no  longer  a  mili 
tary  body.  We  had  ceased  to  be  either  officers 
or  privates.  We  were  now  only  so  many  wretched 
fellow-beings,  dependent  upon  each  other,  like 
sailors  cast  adrift  upon  some  desert  island,  and 
each  worked  for  the  good  of  all,  and  the  ties 
which  bound  us  together  were  stronger  than  those 
of  authority  and  discipline.  Men  scarcely  able 
to  drag  themselves  on,  begged  for  the  privilege 
of  helping  to  carry  Laguerre,  and  he  in  turn 
besought  and  commanded  that  we  leave  him  by 
the  trail,  and  hasten  to  the  safety  of  the  coast. 
In  one  of  his  conscious  moments  he  protested : 
"I  cannot  live,  and  I  am  only  hindering  your 

277 


Captain  Macklin 

escape.  It  is  not  right,  nor  human,  that  one 
man  should  risk  the  lives  of  all  the  rest.  For 
God's  sake,  obey  my  orders  and  put  me  down." 

Hour  after  hour,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day, 
we  struggled  forward,  staggering,  stumbling,  some 
raving  with  fever,  others  with  set  faces,  biting  their 
yellow  lips  to  choke  back  the  pain. 

Three  times  when  we  endeavored  to  gain 
ground  by  venturing  on  the  level  trail,  the 
mounted  scouts  of  Alvarez  overtook  us,  or  at 
tacked  us  from  ambush,  and  when  we  beat  them 
off,  they  rode  ahead  and  warned  the  villages  that 
we  were  coming ;  so,  that,  when  we  reached  them, 
we  were  driven  forth  like  lepers.  Even  the  village 
dogs  snapped  and  bit  at  the  gaunt  figures,  trem 
bling  for  lack  of  food,  and  loss  of  sleep  and  blood. 

But  on  the  sixth  day,  just  at  sunset,  as  we  had 
dragged  ourselves  to  the  top  of  a  wooded  hill  we 
saw  below  us,  beyond  a  league  of  unbroken  jungle, 
a  great,  shining  sheet  of  water,  like  a  cloud  on  the 
horizon,  and  someone  cried :  "  The  Pacific  !  " 
and  we  all  stumbled  forward,  and  some  dropped 
on  their  knees,  and  some  wept,  and  some  swung 
their  hats  and  tried  to  cheer. 

And  then  one  of  them,  I  never  knew  which, 
started  singing,  "  Praise  God,  from  whom  all 
blessings  flow,"  and  we  stood  up,  the  last  of  the 
Legion,  shaken  with  fever,  starving,  wounded,  and 

278 


Captain  Macklin 

hunted  by  our  fellow-men,  and  gave  praise  to 
God,  as  we  had  never  praised  Him  before. 

That  night  the  fever  took  hold  of  me,  and 
in  my  tossings  and  turnings  I  burst  open  the 
sword-wound  at  the  back  of  my  head.  I  remem 
ber  someone  exclaiming  "  He's  bled  to  death  !  *B 
and  a  torch  held  to  my  eyes,  and  then  darkness, 
and  the  sense  that  I  was  being  carried  and  bumped 
about  on  men's  shoulders. 

The  next  thing  I  knew  I  was  lying  in  a  ham 
mock,  a  lot  of  naked,  brown  children  were  playing 
in  the  dirt  beside  me,  the  sun  was  shining,  great 
palms  were  bending  in  the  wind  above  me,  and 
the  strong,  sweet  air  of  the  salt  sea  was  blowing 
in  my  face. 

I  lay  for  a  long  time  trying  to  guess  where  I 
was,  and  how  I  had  come  there.  But  I  found  no 
explanation  for  it,  so  I  gave  up  guessing,  and 
gazed  contentedly  at  the  bending  palms  until  one 
of  the  children  found  my  eyes  upon  him,  and 
gave  a  scream,  and  they  all  pattered  off  like 
frightened  partridges. 

That  brought  a  native  woman  from  behind  me, 
smiling,  and  murmuring  prayers  in  Spanish.  She 
handed  me  a  gourd  filled  with  water. 

I  asked  where  I  was,  and  she  said,  "San 
Lorenzo." 

I  could  have  jumped  out  of  the  hammock  at 
279 


Captain  Macklin 


that,  but  when  1  tried  to  do  so  1  found  1  could 
hardly  raise  my  body.  But  I  had  gained  the  coast. 
I  knew  I  would  find  strength  enough  to  leave  it. 

"  Where  are  my  friends  ?  "  I  asked.  "  Where 
are  the  Gringoes  ?  " 

But  she  raised  her  hands,  and  threw  them  wide 
apart. 

"  They  have  gone,"  she  said,  "  three,  four  days 
from  now,  they  sailed  away  in  the  white  ship. 
There  was  a  great  fighting,"  she  said,  raising  her 
eyes  and  shaking  her  head,  "  and  they  carried  you 
here,  and  told  me  to  hide  you.  You  have  been 
very  ill,  and  you  are  still  very  ill."  She  gave  a 
little  exclamation  and  disappeared,  and  returned 
at  once  with  a  piece  of  folded  paper.  "  For  you," 
she  said. 

On  the  outside  of  the  paper  was  written  in 
Spanish :  "  This  paper  will  be  found  on  the  body 
of  Royal  Macklin.  Let  the  priest  bury  him  and 
send  word  to  the  Military  Academy,  West  Point, 
U.  S.  A.,  asking  that  his  family  be  informed  of 
his  place  of  burial.  They  will  reward  you  well." 

Inside,  in  English,  was  the  following  letter  in 
Aiken's  handwriting : 

"  DEAR  OLD  MAN — We  had  to  drop  you 
here,  as  we  were  too  sick  to  carry  you  any  farther, 
rhey  jumped  us  at  San  Lorenzo,  and  when  we 

280 


Captain  Macklin 

found  we  couldn't  get  to  Amapala  from  here,  we 
decided  to  scatter,  and  let  each  man  take  care  of 
himself.  Von  Ritter  and  I,  and  two  of  the  boys, 
are  taking  Laguerre  with  us.  He  is  still  alive, 
but  very  bad.  We  hope  to  pick  up  a  fishing- 
boat  outside  of  town,  and  make  for  the  Raleigh. 
We  tried  to  carry  you,  too,  but  it  wasn't  possible. 
We  had  to  desert  one  of  you,  so  we  stuck  by  the 
old  man.  We  hid  your  revolver  and  money- 
belt  under  the  seventh  palm,  on  the  beach  to  the 
right  of  this  shack.  If  I'd  known  you  had  twenty 
double  eagles  on  you  all  this  time,  I'd  have 
cracked  your  skull  myself.  The  crack  you've 
got  is  healing,  and  if  you  pull  through  the  fever 
you'll  be  all  right.  If  you  do,  give  this  woman 
twenty  pesos  I  borrowed  from  her.  Get  her  to 
hire  a  boat,  and  men,  and  row  it  to  Amapala. 
This  island  is  only  fifteen  miles  out,  and  the  Pa 
cific  Mail  boat  touches  there  Thursdays  and  Sun 
days.  If  you  leave  here  the  night  before,  you  can 
make  it.  Whatever  you  do,  don't  go  into  the 
village  here  or  land  at  Amapala.  If  they  catch 
you  on  shore  they  will  surely  shoot  you.  So 
board  the  steamer  in  the  offing.  Hoping  you 
will  live  to  read  this,  and  that  we  may  meet  again 
under  more  agreeable  circumstances,  I  am, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  HERBERT  AIKEN." 
281 


Captain  Macklin 

"  P.S.  I  have  your  gilt  sword,  and  I'm  going  to 
turn  it  over  to  the  officers  of  the  Raleigh,  to  take 
back  to  your  folks.  Good  luck  to  you,  old  man." 

After  reading  this  letter,  which  I  have  pre 
served  carefully  as  a  characteristic  souvenir  of 
Aiken,  I  had  but  two  anxieties.  The  first  was  to 
learn  if  Laguerre  and  the  others  had  reached  the 
Raleigh,  and  the  second  was  how  could  I  escape 
to  the  steamer — the  first  question  was  at  once 
answered  by  the  woman.  She  told  me  it  was 
known  in  San  Lorenzo  that  the  late  "  Presidente 
Generale,"  with  three  Gringoes,  had  reached  the 
American  war-ship  and  had  been  received  on  board. 
The  Commandante  of  Amapala  had  demanded 
their  surrender  to  him,  but  the  captain  of  the  ship 
had  declared  that  as  political  refugees,  they  were 
entitled  to  the  protection  they  claimed,  and  when 
three  days  later  he  had  been  ordered  to  return  to 
San  Francisco,  he  had  taken  them  with  him. 

When  I  heard  that,  I  gave  a  cheer  all  by  my 
self,  and  I  felt  so  much  better  for  the  news  that 
I  at  once  began  to  plot  for  my  own  departure. 
The  day  was  Wednesday,  the  day  before  the 
steamer  left  Amapala,  and  I  determined  to  start 
for  the  island  the  following  evening.  When  I 
told  the  woman  this,  she  protested  I  was  much 
too  weak  to  move,  but  the  risk  that  my  hiding- 

282 


Captain  Macklin 

place  might  be  discovered  before  another  steamer- 
day  arrived  was  much  too  great,  and  I  insisted  on 
making  a  try  for  the  first  one. . 

The  woman  accordingly  procured  a  fishing- 
boat  and  a  crew  of  three  men,  and  I  dug  up  my 
money-belt,  and  my  revolver,  and  thanked  her 
and  paid  her,  for  Aiken  and  for  myself,  as  well 
as  one  can  pay  a  person  for  saving  one's  life. 
The  next  night,  as  soon  as  the  sun  set,  I  seated 
myself  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  we  pushed 
out  from  the  shore  of  Honduras,  and  were  soon 
rising  and  falling  on  the  broad  swell  of  the  Pacific. 

My  crew  were  simple  fishermen,  unconcerned 
with  politics,  and  as  I  had  no  fear  of  harm  from 
them,  I  curled  up  on  a  mat  at  their  feet  and 
instantly  fell  asleep. 

When  I  again  awoke  the  sun  was  well  up,  and 
when  I  raised  my  head  the  boatman  pointed  to  a 
fringe  of  palms  that  hung  above  the  water,  and 
which  he  told  me  rose  from  the  Island  of  Ama- 
pala.  Two  hours  later  we  made  out  the  wharves 
and  the  custom-house  of  the  port  itself,  and, 
lying  well  toward  us  in  the  harbor,  a  big  steamer 
with  the  smoke  issuing  from  her  stacks,  and  the 
American  flag  hanging  at  the  stern.  I  was  still 
weak  and  shaky,  and  1  must  confess  that  I  choked 
a  bit  at  the  sight  of  the  flag,  and  at  the  thought 
that,  in  spite  of  all,  I  was  going  safely  back  to 

283 


Captain  Macklin 

life,  and  Beatrice  and  Aunt  Mary.  The  name  1 
made  out  on  the  stern  of  the  steamer  was  Barra- 
couta,  and  I  considered  it  the  prettiest  name  I 
had  ever  known,  and  the  steamer  the  handsomest 
ship  that  ever  sailed  the  sea.  I  loved  her  from 
her  keel  to  her  topmast.  I  loved  her  every  line 
and  curve,  her  every  rope  and  bolt.  But  specially 
did  I  love  the  flag  at  her  stern  and  the  blue  Peter 
at  the  fore.  They  meant  home.  They  meant 
peace,  friends,  and  my  own  countrymen. 

I  gave  the  boatmen  a  double  eagle,  and  we  all 
shook  hands  with  great  glee,  and  then  with  new 
strength  and  unassisted  I  pulled  myself  up  the 
companion-ladder,  and  stood  upon  the  deck. 

When  I  reached  it  I  wanted  to  embrace  the  first 
man  I  saw.  I  somehow  expected  that  he  would 
want  to  embrace  me,  too,  and  say  how  glad  he 
was  I  had  escaped.  But  he  happened  to  be  the 
ship's  purser,  and,  instead  of  embracing  me,  he 
told  me  coldly  that  steerage  passengers  are  not 
allowed  aft.  But  I  did  not  mind,  I  knew  that  I 
was  a  disreputable  object,  but  I  also  knew  that  I 
had  gold  in  my  money-belt,  and  that  clothes 
could  be  bought  from  the  slop-chest. 

So  I  said  in  great  good-humor,  that  I  wanted 
a  first-class  cabin,  the  immediate  use  of  the  bath 
room,  and  the  services  of  the  ship's  barber. 

My  head  was  bound  in  a  dirty  bandage.  My 
284 


Captain  Macklin 

uniform,  which  I  still  wore  as  I  had  nothing  else, 
was  in  rags  from  the  briers,  and  the  mud  of  the 
swamps  and  the  sweat  of  the  fever  had  caked  it 
with  dirt.  I  had  an  eight  days'  beard,  and  my 
bare  feet  were  in  native  sandals.  So  my  feelings 
were  not  greatly  hurt  because  the  purser  was  not 
as  genuinely  glad  to  see  me  as  I  was  to  see  him. 

"  A  first-class  passage  costs  forty  dollars  gold 
— in  advance,"  he  said. 

"  That's  all  right,"  I  answered,  and  I  laughed 
from  sheer,  foolish  happiness,  "  I'll  take  six." 

We  had  been  standing  at  the  head  of  the  com 
panion-ladder,  and  as  the  purser  moved  rather 
reluctantly  toward  his  cabin,  a  group  of  men 
came  down  the  deck  toward  us. 

One  of  them  was  a  fat,  red-faced  American, 
the  others  wore  the  uniform  of  Alvarez.  When 
they  saw  me  they  gave  little  squeals  of  excite 
ment,  and  fell  upon  the  fat  man  gesticulating 
violently,  and  pointing  angrily  at  me. 

The  purser  halted,  and  if  it  were  possible,  re 
garded  me  with  even  greater  unfriendliness.  As 
for  myself,  the  sight  of  the  brown,  impish  faces, 
and  the  familiar  uniforms  filled  me  with  disgust. 
I  had  thought  I  was  done  with  brawling  and 
fighting,  of  being  hated  and  hunted.  I  had  had 
my  fill  of  it.  I  wanted  to  be  let  alone,  I  wanted 
to  feel  that  everybody  about  me  was  a  friend.  I 

285 


Captain  JViacklin 


was  not  in  the  least  alarmed,  for  now  that  I  was 
under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  I  knew  that  I  was 
immune  from  capture,  but  the  mere  possibility  of 
a  row  was  intolerable. 

One  of  the  Honduranians  wore  the  uniform  of 
a  colonel,  and  was,  as  I  guessed,  the  Command- 
ante  of  the  port.  He  spoke  to  the  fat  man  in 
English,  but  in  the  same  breath  turned  to  one  of 
his  lieutenants,  and  gave  an  order  in  Spanish. 

The  lieutenant  started  in  my  direction,  and 
then  hesitated  and  beckoned  to  some  one  behind 
me. 

I  heard  a  patter  of  bare  feet  on  the  deck,  and 
a  dozen  soldiers  ran  past  me,  and  surrounded  us. 
I  noted  that  they  and  their  officers  belonged  to 
the  Eleventh  Infantry.  It  was  the  regiment  I 
had  driven  out  of  the  barracks  at  Santa  Barbara. 

The  fat  American  in  his  shirt-sleeves  was  lis 
tening  to  what  the  Commandante  was  saying,  and 
apparently  with  great  dissatisfaction.  As  he  lis 
tened  he  scowled  at  me,  chewing  savagely  on  an 
unlit  cigar,  and  rocking  himself  to  and  fro  on  his 
heels  and  toes.  His  thumbs  were  stuck  in  his 
suspenders,  so  that  it  looked  as  though,  with 
great  indecision  he  was  pulling  himself  forward 
and  back. 

I  turned  to  the  purser  and  said,  as  carelessly  as 
I  could  •  "  Well,  what  are  we  waiting  for  ?  " 

286 


Captain  Macklin 

But  he  only  shook  his  head. 

With  a  gesture  of  impatience  the  fat  man 
turned  suddenly  from  the  Commandante  and 
came  toward  me. 

He  spoke  abruptly  and  with  the  tone  of  a 
man  holding  authority. 

"  Have  you  got  your  police-permit  to  leave 
Amapala  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  No,"  I  answered. 

"  Well,  why  haven't  you  ?  "  he  snapped. 

"  I  didn't  know  I  had  to  have  one,"  I  said. 
"  Why  do  you  ask  ?  "  I  added.  "  Are  you  the 
captain  of  this  ship  ? " 

"  I  think  I  am,"  he  suddenly  roared,  as  though 
I  had  questioned  his  word.  "  Anyway,  I've  got 
enough  say  on  her  to  put  you  ashore  if  you  don't 
answer  my  questions." 

I  shut  my  lips  together  and  looked  away  from 
him.  His  tone  stirred  what  little  blood  there 
was  still  left  in  me  to  rebellion  ;  but  when  I  saw 
the  shore  with  its  swamps  and  ragged  palms,  I 
felt  how  perilously  near  it  was,  and  Panama  be 
came  suddenly  a  distant  mirage.  I  was  as  help 
less  as  a  sailor  clinging  to  a  plank.  I  felt  I  was 
in  no  position  to  take  offence,  so  I  bit  my  lips 
and  tried  to  smile. 

The  Captain  shook  his  head  at  me,  as  though 
I  were  a  prisoner  in  the  dock. 

287 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  he  shouted,  "  that  our 
agent  sold  you  a  ticket  without  you  showing  a 
police-permit  ? " 

"  I  haven't  got  a  ticket,"  I  said.  "  I  was  just 
going  to  buy  one  now." 

The  Commandante  thrust  himself  between  us. 

"  Ah,  what  did  I  tell  you  ?  "  he  cried.  "  You 
see  ?  He  is  escaping.  This  is  the  man.  He 
answers  all  the  descriptions.  He  was  dressed 
just  so ;  green  coat,  red  trousers,  very  torn  and 
dirty — head  in  bandage.  This  is  the  description. 
Is  it  not  so  ? "  he  demanded  of  his  lieutenants. 
They  nodded  vigorously. 

"  Why — a-yes,  that  is  the  man,"  the  Com 
mandante  cried  in  triumph.  "  Last  night  he 
stabbed  Jose  Mendez  in  the  Libertad  Billiard 
Hall.  He  has  wanted  to  murder  him.  If  Jose, 
he  die,  this  man  he  is  murderer.  He  cannot  go. 
He  must  come  to  land  with  me." 

He  gave  an  order  in  Spanish,  and  the  soldiers 
closed  in  around  us. 

I  saw  that  I  was  in  great  peril,  in  danger  more 
real  than  any  I  had  faced  in  open  fight  since  I 
had  entered  Honduras.  For  the  men  who  had 
met  me  then  had  fought  with  fair  weapons. 
These  men  were  trying  to  take  away  my  life  with 
a  trick,  with  cunning  lies  and  false  witnesses. 

They  knew  the  Captain  might  not  surrender  a 
288 


Captain  Macklin 


passenger  who  was  only  a  political  offender,  but 
that  he  could  not  harbor  a  criminal.  And  at  the 
first  glance  at  my  uniform,  and  when  he  knew 
nothing  more  of  me  than  that  I  wore  it,  the  Com- 
mandante  had  trumped  up  this  charge  of  crime, 
and  had  fitted  to  my  appearance  the  imaginary 
description  of  an  imaginary  murderer.  And  I 
knew  that  he  did  this  that  he  might  send  me, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  as  a  gift  to  Alvarez,  or  that 
he  might,  for  his  own  vengeance,  shoot  me  against 
a  wall. 

I  knew  how  little  I  would  receive  of  either  jus 
tice  or  mercy.  I  had  heard  of  Dr.  Rojas  killed 
between  decks  on  a  steamer  of  this  same  line ;  of 
Bonilla  taken  from  the  Ariadne  and  murdered  on 
this  very  wharf  at  this  very  port  of  Amapala ;  of 
General  Pulido  strangled  in  the  launch  of  the 
Commandante  of  Corinto  and  thrown  overboard, 
while  still  in  the  sight  of  his  fellow-passengers  on 
the  Southern  Cross. 

It  was  a  degraded,  horrible,  inglorious  end — 
to  be  caught  by  the  heels  after  the  real  battle  was 
lost ;  to  die  of  fever  in  a  cell ;  to  be  stabbed  with 
bayonets  on  the  wharf,  and  thrown  to  the  carrion 
harbor-sharks. 

I  swung  around  upon  the  Captain,  and  fought 
for  my  life  as  desperately  as  though  I  had  a  rope 
around  my  neck. 

289 


Captain  Macklin 

"  That  man  is  a  liar,"  I  cried.  "  I  was  not  in 
Amapala  last  night.  I  came  from  San  Lorenzo 
this  morning.  '  The  boat  is  alongside  now  ;  you 
can  ask  the  men  who  brought  me.  I'm  no 
murderer.  That  man  knows  I'm  no  murderer, 
He  wants  me  because  I  belonged  to  the  opposi 
tion  government.  It's  because  I  wear  this  uni 
form  he  wants  me.  I'm  no  criminal.  He  has 
no  more  right  to  touch  me  here,  than  he  would 
if  I  were  on  Broadway." 

The  Commandante  seized  the  Captain's  arm. 

"  As  Commandante  of  this  port,"  he  screamed, 
"  I  tell  you  if  you  do  not  surrender  the  murderer 
to  me,  your  ship  shall  not  sail.  I  will  take  back 
your  clearance-papers." 

The  Captain  turned  on  me,  shaking  his  red 
fists,  and  tossing  his  head  like  a  bull.  "  You 
see  that !  "  he  cried.  "  You  see  what  you  get 
me  into,  coming  on  board  my  ship  without  a  per 
mit  !  That's  what  I  get  at  every  banana-patch 
along  this  coast,  a  lot  of  damned  beach-combers 
and  stowaways  stealing  on  board,  and  the  Com 
mandante  chasing  'em  all  over  my  ship  and  hold 
ing  up  my  papers.  You  go  ashore  !  "  he  ordered. 
He  swept  his  arm  toward  the  gangway.  "  You 
go  to  Kessler,  our  consul.  If  you  haven't  done 
nothing  wrong,  he'll  take  care  of  you.  You 
haven't  got  a  ticket,  and  you  haven't  got  a  per- 

290 


Captain  Macklin 

mit,  and  you're  no  passenger  of  mine !  Over 
you  go ;  do  you  hear  me  ?  Quick  now,  over 
you  go." 

I  could  not  believe  that  I  heard  the  man  aright. 
He  seemed  to  be  talking  a  language  I  did  not  know. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me,"  I  cried,  speaking 
very  slowly,  for  I  was  incredulous,  and  I  was  so 
weak  besides  that  it  was  difficult  for  me  to  find 
the  words,  "  that  you  refuse  to  protect  me  from 
these  half-breeds,  that  you  are  going  to  turn  me 
over  to  them — to  be  shot !  And  you  call  your 
self  an  American  ? "  I  cried,  "  and  this  an  Ameri 
can  ship  !  " 

As  I  turned  from  him  I  found  that  the  passen 
gers  had  come  forward  and  now  surrounded  us ; 
big,  tall  men  in  cool,  clean  linen,  and  beautiful 
women,  shading  their  eyes  with  their  fans,  and 
little  children  crowding  in  between  them  and 
clinging  to  their  skirts.  To  my  famished  eyes 
they  looked  like  angels  out  of  Paradise.  They 
were  my  own  people,  and  they  brought  back  to 
me  how  I  loved  the  life  these  men  were  plotting 
to  take  from  me.  The  sight  of  them  drove  me 
into  a  sort  of  frenzy. 

"  Are  you  going  to  take  that  man's  word 
against  mine  ?  "  I  cried  at  the  Captain.  "  Are 
you  going  to  let  him  murder  me  in  sight  of  that 
flag  ?  You  know  he'll  do  it.  You  know  what 

291 


Captain  Macklin 


they  did  to  Rojas  on  one  of  your  own  ships.  Do 
you  want  another  man  butchered  in  sight  of  your 
passengers  ?  " 

The  Commandante  crowded  in  front  of  the 
ship's  captain. 

"  That  man  is  my  prisoner,"  he  cried.  "  He 
is  going  to  jail,  to  be  tried  by  law.  He  shall  see 
his  consul  every  day.  And  so,  if  you  try  to 
leave  this  harbor  with  him,  I  will  sink  your  ship 
from  the  fort !  " 

The  Captain  turned  with  an  oath  and  looked 
up  to  the  second  officer,  who  was  leaning  over 
the  rail  of  the  bridge  above  us. 

"  Up  anchor,"  the  Captain  shouted.  "  Get 
her  under  weigh  !  There  is  your  answer,"  hite 
cried,  turning  upon  me.  "  I'm  not  going  to 
have  this  ship  held  up  any  longer,  and  I'm  not 
going  to  risk  the  lives  of  these  ladies  and  gentle 
men  by  any  bombardment,  either.  You're  only 
going  to  jail.  I'll  report  the  matter  to  our  consul 
at  Corinto,  and  he'll  tell  our  minister." 

"  Corinto  !  "  I  replied.  "  I'll  be  dead  before 
youVe  passed  that  lighthouse." 

The  Captain  roared  with  anger. 

"  Can't  you  hear  what  he  says,"  he  shouted. 
<c  He  says  he'll  fire  on  my  ship.  They've  fired 
on  our  ships  before !  I'm  not  here  to  protect 
every  damned  scalawag  that  tries  to  stowaway  on 

292 


Captain  Macklin 


my  ship.  I'm  here  to  protect  the  owners,  and  I 
mean  to  do  it.  Now  you  get  down  that  ladder, 
before  we  throw  you  down." 

I  knew  his  words  were  final.  From  the  bow  I 
heard  the  creak  of  the  anchor-chains  as  they  were 
drawn  on  board,  and  from  the  engine-room  the 
tinkle  of  bells. 

The  ship  was  abandoning  me.  My  last  appeal 
had  failed.  My  condition  was  desperate. 

"  Protect  your  owners,  and  yourself,  damn 
you  !  "  I  cried.  "  You're  no  American.  You're 
no  white  man.  No  American  would  let  a  conch- 
nigger  run  his  ship.  To  hell  with  your  protec 
tion  ! " 

All  the  misery  of  the  last  two  months,  the 
bitterness  of  my  dismissal  from  the  Point,  the 
ignominy  of  our  defeat  and  flight,  rose  in  me  and 
drove  me  on.  "  And  I  don't  want  the  protection 
of  that  flag  either,"  I  cried.  "  I  wasn't  good 
enough  to  serve  it  once,  and  I  don't  need  it 
now." 

It  should  be  remembered  that  when  I  spoke 
these  words  I  thought  my  death  was  inevitable 
and  immediate,  that  it  had  been  brought  upon 
me  by  one  of  my  own  countrymen,  while  others 
of  my  countrymen  stood  indifferently  by,  and  I 
hope  that  for  what  I  said  in  that  moment  of  fever 
and  despair  I  may  be  forgiven. 

293 


Captain  Macklin 

<f  i  can  protect  myself!  "  I  cried. 

Before  anyone  could  move  I  whipped  out  my 
gun  and  held  it  over  the  Commandante's  heart, 
and  at  the  same  instant  without  turning  my  eyes 
from  his  face  I  waved  my  other  hand  at  the 
passengers.  "  Take  those  children  away,"  I 
shouted. 

"  Don't  move !  "  I  yelled  in  Spanish  at  the 
soldiers.  "  If  one  of  you  raises  his  musket  I'll 
kill  him."  I  pressed  the  cocked  revolver  against 
the  Commandante's  chest.  <c  Now,  then,  take 
me  ashore,"  I  called  to  his  men.  "You  know 
me,  I'm  Captain  Macklin.  Captain  Macklin,  of 
the  Foreign  Legion,  and  you  know  that  six  of 
you  will  die  before  you  get  me.  Come  on,"  I 
taunted.  "  Which  six  is  it  to  be  ?  " 

Out  of  the  corners  of  my  eyes  I  could  see  the 
bayonets  lifting  cautiously  and  forming  a  ring  of 
points  about  me,  and  the  sight,  and  my  own 
words  lashed  me  into  a  frenzy  of  bravado. 

"  Oh,  you  don't  remember  me,  don't  you  ?  "  I 
cried.  "  You  ought  to  remember  the  Foreign 
Legion  !  We  drove  you  out  of  Santa  Barbara 
and  Tabla  Ve  and  Comyagua,  and  I'm  your  Vice- 
President !  Take  off  your  hats  to  your  Vice- 
President !  To  Captain  Macklin,  Vice-President 
of  Honduras ! " 

I  sprang  back  against  the  cabin  and  swung 
294 


g. 


Captain  Macklin 


the  gun  in  swift  half-circles.  The  men  shrank 
from  it  as  though  I  had  lashed  them  with  a 
whip.  "Come  on,"  1  cried,  "which  six  is  it  to 
be  ?  Come  on,  you  cowards,  why  don't  you  take 
me!" 

The  only  answer  came  from  a  voice  that  was 
suddenly  uplifted  at  my  side.  I  recognized  it  as 
the  voice  of  the  ship's  captain. 

"  Put  down  that  gun!  "  he  shouted. 

But  I  only  swung  it  the  further  until  it  covered 
him  also.  The  man  stood  in  terror  of  his  ship's 
owners,  he  had  a  seaman's  dread  of  international 
law,  but  he  certainly  was  not  afraid  of  a  gun.  He 
regarded  it  no  more  than  a  pointed  finger,  and 
leaned  eagerly  toward  me.  To  my  amazement  I 
saw  that  his  face  was  beaming  with  excitement 
and  delight. 

"  Are  you  Captain  Macklin  ?  "  he  cried. 

I  was  so  amazed  that  for  a  moment  I  could 
only  gape  at  him  while  I  still  covered  him  with 
the  revolver. 

"Yes,"  I  answered. 

"  Then  why  in  hell  didn't  you  say  so !  "  he 
roared,  and  with  a  bellow  like  a  bull  he  threw 
himself  upon  the  Commandante.  He  seized  him 
by  his  epaulettes  and  pushed  him  backward. 
With  the  strength  of  a  bull  he  butted  and  shoved 
him  across  the  deck. 

295 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Off  my  ship  you  !  "  he  roared.  "  Every  one 
of  you;  you're  a  gang  of  murdering  cutthroats." 

The  deck-hands  and  the  ship-stewards,  who  had 
gathered  at  the  gangway  to  assist  in  throwing  me 
down  it,  sprang  to  the  Captain's  aid. 

"  Over  with  him,  boys,"  he  roared.  "  Clear 
the  ship  of  them.  Throw  them  overboard." 
The  crew  fell  upon  the  astonished  soldiers,  and 
drove  them  to  the  side.  Their  curses  and 
shrieks  filled  the  air,  the  women  retreated  scream 
ing,  and  I  was  left  alone,  leaning  limply  against 
the  cabin  with  my  revolver  hanging  from  my 
fingers. 

It  began  and  ended  in  an  instant,  and  as  the 
ship  moved  forward  and  the  last  red-breeched 
soldier  disappeared  headforemost  down  the  com 
panion-ladder,  the  Captain  rushed  back  to  me 
and  clutched  me  by  both  shoulders.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  genial  grin  on  his  fat  face,  I  would 
have  thought  that  he  meant  to  hurl  me  after  the 
others. 

"  Now  then,  Captain  Macklin,"  he  cried,  "  you 
come  with  me.  You  come  to  my  cabin,  and  that's 
where  you  stay  as  long  as  you  are  on  my  ship. 
You're  no  passenger,  you're  my  guest,  and  there's 
nothing  on  board  too  good  for  you." 

"  But  I  don't — understand,"  I  protested  faintly. 
"  What  does  it  mean  ?  " 

296 


Captain  Macklin 

"  What  does  it  mean  ? "  he  shouted.  "  It 
means  you're  the  right  sort  for  me !  I  haven't 
heard  of  nothing  but  your  goings-on  for  the  last 
three  trips.  Vice-President  of  Honduras  !  "  he 
exclaimed,  shaking  me  as  though  I  were  a  carpet. 
"  A  kid  like  you  !  You  come  to  my  cabin  and 
tell  me  the  whole  yarn  from  start  to  finish.  I'd 
rather  carry  you  than  old  man  Huntington  him 
self!  " 

The  passengers  had  returned,  and  stood  lis 
tening  to  his  exclamations,  in  a  wondering  circle. 
The  stewards  and  deck-hands,  panting  with  their 
late  exertions,  were  grinning  at  me  with  unmis 
takable  interest. 

"  Bring  Captain  Macklin's  breakfast  to  my 
cabin,  you,"  he  shouted  to  them.  "And,  Mr. 
Owen,"  he  continued,  addressing  the  Purser,  with 
great  impressiveness,  "this  is  Captain  Macklin^ 
himself.  He's  going  with  us  as  my  guest." 

With  a  wink,  he  cautiously  removed  my  re 
volver  from  my  fingers,  and  slapped  me  jovially 
on  the  shoulder.  "  Son  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  I 
wouldn't  have  missed  the  sight  of  you  holding 
your  gun  on  that  gang  for  a  cargo  of  bullion.  I 
suspicioned  it  was  you,  the  moment  you  did  it. 
That  will  be  something  for  me  to  tell  them  in 
"Frisco,  that  will.  Now,  you  come  along,"  he 
added,  suddenly,  with  parental  solicitude,  "and 

297 


Captain  Macklin  - 

take  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  a  dose  of  quinine,  or 
you'll  be  ailing." 

He  pushed  a  way  for  me  through  the  crowd  of 
passengers,  who  fell  back  in  two  long  lines.  As 
we  moved  between  them,  I  heard  a  woman's 
voice  ask,  in  a  loud  whisper: 

"  Who  did  you  say  ?  " 

A  man's  voice  answered,  "  Why,  Captain 
Macklin,"  and  then  protested,  in  a  rising  accent, 
"  Now,  for  Heaven's  sake,  Jennie,  don't  tell  me 
you  don't  know  who  he  is  ?  " 

That  was  my  first  taste  of  fame.  It  was  a 
short-lived,  limited  sort  of  fame,  but  at  that  time 
it  stretched  throughout  all  Central  America.  I 
doubt  if  it  is  sufficiently  robust  to  live  in  the  cold 
latitudes  of  the  North.  It  is  just  an  exotic  of  the 
tropics.  I  am  sure  it  will  never  weather  Cape 
Hatteras.  But  although  I  won't  amount  to 
much  in  Dobbs  Ferry,  down  here  in  Central 
America  I  am  pretty  well  known,  and  during 
these  last  two  months  that  I  have  been  lying, 
very  near  to  death,  in  the  Canal  Company's  hos 
pital,  my  poor  little  fame  stuck  by  me,  and  turned 
strangers  into  kind  and  generous  friends. 

DOBBS  FERRY,  September,  1882 

September  passed  before  I  was  a  convalescent, 
and  it  was  the  first  of  October  when  the  Port 

298 


Captain  Macklin 

of  Sydney  passed  Sandy  Hook,  and  I  stood  at 
the  bow,  trembling  with  cold  and  happiness,  and 
saw  the  autumn  leaves  on  the  hills  of  Staten  Island 
and  the  thousands  of  columns  of  circling,  white 
smoke  rising  over  the  three  cities.  I  had  not  let 
Beatrice  and  Aunt  Mary  know  that  I  was  in  a 
hospital,  but  had  told  them  that  I  was  making 
my  way  home  slowly,  which  was  true  enough, 
and  that  they  need  not  expect  to  hear  from  me 
until  I  had  arrived  in  New  York  City.  So,  there 
was  no  one  at  the  dock  to  meet  me. 

But,  as  we  came  up  the  harbor,  I  waved  at  the 
people  on  the  passing  ferry-boats,  and  they,  shiver 
ing,  no  doubt,  at  the  sight  of  our  canvas  awnings 
and  the  stewards'  white  jackets,  waved  back,  and 
gave  me  my  first  welcome  home. 

It  was  worth  all  the  disappointments,  and  the 
weeks  in  hospital,  to  stick  my  head  in  the  ticket- 
window  of  the  Grand  Central  Station,  and  hear 
myself  say,  "  Dobbs  Ferry,  please."  I  remember 
the  fascination  with  which  I  watched  the  man  (he 
was  talking  over  his  shoulder  to  another  man 
at  the  time)  punch  the  precious  ticket,  and  toss  it 
to  me.  I  suppose  in  his  life  he  has  many  times  sold 
tickets  to  Dobbs  Ferry,  but  he  never  sold  them  as 
often  as  I  had  rehearsed  asking  him  for  that  one, 

I  had  wired  them  not  to  meet  me  at  the  station, 
but  to  be  waiting  at  the  house,  and  when  I  came 

299 


Captain  Macklin 

up  the  old  walk,  with  the  box-hedges  on  either 
side,  they  were  at  the  door,  and  Aunt  Mary  ran 
to  meet  me,  and  hugged  and  scolded  me,  and 
cried  on  my  shoulder,  and  Beatrice  smiled  at  me, 
just  as  though  she  were  very  proud  of  me,  and  I 
kissed  her  once.  After  ten  minutes,  it  did  not 
seem  as  though  I  had  ever  been  away  from  home. 
And,  when  I  looked  at  Beatrice,  and  I  could  not 
keep  my  eyes  from  her,  I  was  filled  with  wonder 
that  I  had  ever  had  the  courage  to  go  from  where 
she  was.  We  were  very  happy. 

I  am  afraid  that  for  the  next  two  weeks  I 
traded  upon  their  affection  scandalously.  But  it 
was  their  own  fault.  It  was  their  wish  that  I 
should  constantly  pose  in  the  dual  roles  of  the 
returned  prodigal  and  Othello,  and,  as  I  told 
them,  if  I  were  an  obnoxious  prig  ever  after,  they 
alone  were  responsible. 

I  had  the  ravenous  hunger  of  the  fever-conva 
lescent,  and  I  had  an  audience  that  would  have 
turned  General  Grant  into  a  braggart.  So,  every 
day  wonderful  dishes  of  Aunt  Mary's  contriving 
were  set  before  me,  and  Beatrice  would  not  open 
a  book  so  long  as  there  was  one  adventure  I  had 
left  untold. 

And  this,  as  I  soon  learned,  was  the  more  flat 
tering,  as  she  had  already  heard  most  of  them  at 
second-hand. 

300 


Captain  Macklin 

I  can  remember  my  bewilderment  that  first 
evening  as  I  was  relating  the  story  of  the  duel, 
and  she  corrected  me. 

"  Weren't  you  much  nearer  ? "  she  asked. 
"  You  fired  at  twenty  paces." 

"  So  we  did,"  I  cried,  "  but  how  could  you 
know  that  ? " 

"  Mr.  Lowell  told  us,"  she  said. 

"Lowell!"  I  shouted.  "Has  Lowell  been  here?'* 

"Yes,  he  brought  us  your  sword,"  Beatrice 
answered.  "  Didn't  you  see  where  we  placed  it  ?  '* 
and  she  rose  rather  quickly,  and  stood  with  her 
face  toward  the  fireplace,  where,  sure  enough,  my 
sword  was  hanging  above  the  mantel. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  Aunt  Mary,  "  Mr.  Lowell  has 
been  very  kind.  He  has  come  out  often  to  ask 
for  news  of  you.  He  is  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy 
Yard.  We  like  him  so  much,"  she  added. 

"  Like  him  !  "  I  echoed.  "  I  should  think  you 
would  !  Isn't  that  bully,"  I  cried,  "  to  think  of 
his  being  so  near  me,  and  that  he's  a  friend  of 
yours  already.  We  must  have  him  out  to 
morrow.  Isn't  he  fine,  Beatrice  ?  " 

She  had  taken  down  the  sword,  and  was  stand 
ing  holding  it  out  to  me. 

"  Yes,  he  is,"  she  said,  "  and  he  is  very  fond 
of  you,  too,  Royal.  I  don't  believe  you've  got  a 
better  friend." 

301 


Captain  Macklin 

Attractive  as  the  prodigal  son  may  seem  at  first, 
he  soon  becomes  a  nuisance.  Even  Othello  when 
he  began  to  tell  over  his  stories  for  the  second 
time  must  have  been  something  of  a  bore.  And 
when  Aunt  Mary  gave  'me  roast  beef  for  dinner 
two  nights  in  succession,  and  after  dinner  Beatrice 
picked  up  "  Lorna  Doone  "  and  retired  to  a  cor 
ner,  I  knew  that  I  had  had  my  day. 

The  next  morning  at  breakfast,  in  a  tone  of 
gentle  reproach,  I  announced  that  I  was  going 
out  into  the  cold  world,  as  represented  by  New 
York  City,  to  look  for  a  job.  I  had  no  idea  of 
doing  anything  of  the  sort.  I  only  threw  out  the 
suggestion  tentatively,  and  I  was  exceedingly  dis 
gusted  when  they  caught  up  my  plan  with  such 
enthusiasm  and  alacrity,  that  I  was  forced  to  go 
on  with  it.  I  could  not  see  why  it  was  neces 
sary  for  me  to  work.  I  had  two  thousand  dollars 
a  year  my  grandfather  had  left  me,  and  my  idea  of 
seeking  for  a  job,  was  to  look  for  it  leisurely,  and 
with  caution.  But  the  family  seemed  to  think 
that,  before  the  winter  set  in,  I  should  take  any 
chance  that  offered,  and,  as  they  expressed  it, 
settle  down. 

None  of  us  had  any  very  definite  ideas  as  to 
what  I  ought  to  do,  or  even  that  there  was  any 
thing  I  could  do.  Lowell,  who  is  so  much  with 
us  now,  that  I  treat  him  like  one  of  the  family, 

302 


Captain  Macklin 

argued  that  to  business  men  my  strongest  recom 
mendation  would  be  my  knowledge  of  languages. 
He  said  I  ought  to  try  for  a  clerkship  in  some 
firm  where  I  could  handle  the  foreign  correspond 
ence.  His  even  suggesting  such  work  annoyed 
me  extremely.  I  told  him  that,  on  the  contrary, 
my  strongest  card  was  my  experience  in  active 
campaigning,  backed  by  my  thorough  military  edu 
cation,  and  my  ability  to  command  men.  He 
said  unfeelingly,  that  you  must  first  catch  your 
men,  and  that  in  down-town  business  circles  a 
military  education  counted  for  no  more  than  a 
college-course  in  football. 

"  You  good  people  don't  seem  to  understand," 
I  explained  (we  were  holding  a  family  council  on 
my  case  at  the  time);  "  I  have  no  desire  to  move 
in  down-town  business  circles.  I  hate  business 
circles." 

"Well,  you  must  live,  Royal,"  Aunt  Mary 
said.  "  You  have  not  enough  money  to  be  a 
gentleman  of  leisure." 

"  Royal  wouldn't  be  content  without  some  kind 
of  work,"  said  Beatrice. 

"No,  he  can't  persuade  us  he's  not  ambitious  !" 
Lowell  added.  "  You  mean  to  make  something 
of  yourself,  you  know  you  do,  and  you  can't  be 
gin  too  early." 

Since  Lowell  has  been  promoted  to  the  ward 
room,  he  talks  just  like  a  grandfather. 


Captain  Mack!  in 

"  Young  man,"  I  said,  "  I've  seen  the  day 
when  you  were  an  ensign,  and  I  was  a  Minister  of 
War,  and  you  had  to  click  your  heels  if  you 
came  within  thirty  feet  of  my  distinguished  person. 
Of  course,  I'm  ambitious,  and  the  best  proof  of  it 
is,  that  I  don't  want  to  sit  in  a  bird-cage  all  my 
life,  counting  other  people's  money." 

Aunt  Mary  looked  troubled,  and  shook  her 
head  at  me. 

"Well,  Royal,"  she  remonstrated,  "you've  got 
very  little  of  your  own  to  count,  and  some  day 
you'll  want  to  marry,  and  then  you'll  be 
sorry." 

I  don't  know  why  Aunt  Mary's  remark  should 
have  affected  anyone  except  myself,  but  it  seemed 
to  take  all  the  life  out  of  the  discussion,  and 
Beatrice  remembered  she  had  some  letters  to  write, 
and  Lowell  said  he  must  go  back  to  the  Navy 
Yard,  although  when  he  arrived  he  told  us  he 
had  fixed  it  with  another  man  to  stand  his  watch. 
The  reason  I  was  disturbed  was  because,  when 
Aunt  Mary  spoke,  it  made  me  wonder  if  she 
were  not  thinking  of  Beatrice.  One  day  just 
after  I  arrived  from  Panama,  when  we  were  alone, 
she  said  that  while  I  was  gone  she  had  been  in 
fear  she  might  die  before  I  came  back,  and  that 
Beatrice  would  be  left  alone.  I  laughed  at  her 
and  told  her  she  would  live  a  hundred  years,  and 

3°4 


Captain  Macklin 

added,  not  meaning  anything  in  particular,  "  And 
she'll  not  be  alone.     I'll  be  here." 

Then  Aunt  Mary  looked  at  me  very  sadly, 
and  said :  "  Royal,  I  could  die  so  contentedly  if 
I  thought  you  two  were  happy."  She  waited,  as 
though  she  expected  me  to  make  some  reply,  but 
I  couldn't  think  of  anything  to  say,  and  so  just 
looked  solemn,  then  she  changed  the  subject 
by  asking :  "  Royal,  have  you  noticed  that  Lieu 
tenant  Lowell  admires  Beatrice  very  much  ? " 
And  I  said,  "Of  course  he  does.  If  he  didn't, 
I'd  punch  his  head."  At  which  she  again  looked 
at  me  in  such  a  wistful,  pained  way,  smiling 
so  sadly,  as  though  for  some  reason  she  were 
sorry  for  me. 

They  all  seemed  to  agree  that  I  had  had  my 
fling,  and  should,  as  they  persisted  in  calling  it, 
"settle  down."  A  most  odious  phrase.  They 
were  two  to  one  against  me,  and  when  one  fin 
ished  another  took  it  up.  So  that  at  last  I  ceased 
arguing  and  allowed  myself  to  be  bullied  into 
looking  for  a  position. 

I  But  before  surrendering  myself  to  the  down 
town  business  circles  I  made  one  last  effort  to 
remain  free. 

In  Honduras,  Laguerre  had  told  me  that  a 
letter  to  the  Credit  Lyonnais  in  Paris  would  al 
ways  find  him.  I  knew  that  since  his  arrival  at 

305 


Captain  Macklin 

San  Francisco  he  had  had  plenty  of  time  to  reach 
Paris,  and  that  if  he  were  there  now  he  must 
know  whether  there  is  anything  in  this  talk  of  a 
French  expedition  against  the  Chinese  in  Tonkin. 
Also  whether  the  Mahdi  really  means  to  make 
trouble  for  the  Khedive  in  the  Soudan.  Laguerre 
was  in  the  Egyptian  army  for  three  years,  and 
knows  Baker  Pasha  well.  I  was  sure  that  if  there 
was  going  to  be  trouble,  either  in  China  or  Egypt, 
he  could  not  keep  out  of  it. 

So  I  cabled  him  to  the  Credit  Lyonnais,  "Are 
you  well  ?  If  going  any  more  campaigns,  please 
take  me."  I  waited  three  restless  weeks  for  an 
answer,  and  then,  as  no  answer  came,  I  put  it  all 
behind  me,  and  hung  my  old,  torn  uniform  where 
I  would  not  see  it,  and  hid  the  presentation-sword 
behind  the  eight-day  clock  in  the  library. 

Beatrice  raised  her  eyes  from  her  book  and 
watched  me. 

"  Why  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  It  hurts  me,"  I  said. 

She  put  down  her  book,  and  for  a  long  time 
looked  at  me  without  speaking. 

"  I  did  not  know  you  disliked  it  as  much  as 
that,"  she  said.  "  I  wonder  if  we  are  wrong. 
And  yet,"  she  added,  smiling,  "  it  does  not  seem 
a  great  sacrifice ;  to  have  work  to  do,  to  live 
at  home,  and  in  such  a  dear,  old  home  as  this, 

306 


Captain  Macklin 

near  a  big  city,  and  with  the  river  in  front  and  the 
country  all  about  you.  It  seems  better  than 
dying  of  wounds  in  a  swamp,  or  of  fever  in  a 
hospital." 

"  I  haven't  complained.  I'm  taking  my  medi 
cine,"  I  answered.  "  I  know  you  all  wouldn't 
ask  it  of  me,  if  you  didn't  think  it  was  for  my 
good."  I  had  seated  myself  in  front  of  the  wood 
fire  opposite  her,  and  was  turning  the  chain  she 
gave  me  round  and  round  my  wrist.  I  slipped 
it  off,  and  showed  it  to  her  as  it  hung  from  my 
fingers,  shining  in  the  firelight. 

."  And  yet,"  I  said,  "  it  was  fine  being  your 
Knight-Errant,  and  taking  risks  for  your  sake, 
and  having  only  this  to  keep  me  straight."  I 
cannot  see  why  saying  just  that  should  have  dis 
turbed  her,  but  certainly  my  words,  or  the  sight 
of  the  chain,  had  a  most  curious  effect.  It  is  ab 
surd,  but  I  could  almost  swear  that  she  looked 
frightened.  She  flushed,  and  her  eyes  were  sud 
denly  filled  with  tears.  I  was  greatly  embarrassed. 
Why  should  she  be  afraid  of  me?  I  was  too 
much  upset  to  ask  her  what  was  wrong,  so  I  went 
on  hastily:  "  But  now  I'll  have  you  always  with 
me,  to  keep  me  straight,"  I  said. 

She  laughed  at  that,  a  tremulous  little  laugh, 
and  said  :  "  And  so  you  won't  want  it  any  more, 
will  you  ?  " 

3°7 


Captain  Macklin 

"  Won't  want  it,"  I  protested  gallantly.  "  I'd 
like  to  see  anyone  make  me  give  it  up." 

"  You'd  give  it  up  to  me,  wouldn't  you  ?  "  she 
asked  gently.  "It  looks — "  she  added,  and 
stopped. 

"  I  see,"  I  exclaimed.  "  Looks  like  a  pose, 
sort  of  effeminate,  a  man's  wearing  a  bracelet.  Is 
that  what  you  think  ?  " 

She  laughed  again,  but  this  time  quite  differ 
ently.  She  seemed  greatly  relieved. 

"  Perhaps  that's  it,"  she  said.  "  Give  it  me, 
Royal.  You'll  never  need  any  woman's  trinkets 
to  keep  you  straight." 

I  weighed  the  gold  links  in  the  hollow  of  my 
palm. 

"  Do  you  really  want  it  ?  "  I  asked.  She  raised 
her  eyes  eagerly.  "  If  you  don't  mind,"  she  said. 

I  dropped  the  chain  into  her  hand,  but  as  1 
turned  toward  the  fire,  I  could  not  help  a  little 
sigh.  She  heard  me,  and  leaned  forward.  1 
could  just  see  her  sweet,  troubled  face  in  the  fire 
light.  "  But  I  mean  to  return  it  you,  Royal," 
she  said,  "  some  day,  when — when  you  go  out 
again  to  fight  wind-mills." 

"  That's  safe !  "  I  returned,  roughly.  "  You 
know  that  time  will  never  come.  The  three  of 
you  together  have  fixed  that.  I'm  no  longer  a 
fcnight-errant.  I'm  a  business-man  now.  I'm 

308 


Captain  Macklin 

not  to  remember  I  ever  was  a  knight-errant.  I 
must  even  give  up  my  Order  of  the  Golden 
Chain,  because  it's  too  romantic,  because  it  might 
remind  me  that  somewhere  in  this  world  there  is 
romance,  and  adventure,  and  righting.  And  it 
wouldn't  do.  You  can't  have  romance  around  a 
business  office.  Some  day,  when  I  was  trying  to 
add  up  my  sums,  I  might  see  it  on  my  wrist,  and 
forget  where  I  was.  I  might  remember  the  days 
when  it  shone  in  the  light  of  a  camp-fire,  when  I 
used  to  sleep  on  the  ground  with  my  arm  under 
my  head,  and  it  was  the  last  thing  I  saw,  when  it 
seemed  like  your  fingers  on  my  wrist  holding  me 
back,  or  urging  me  forward.  Business  circles 
would  not  allow  that.  They'd  put  up  a  sign, 
*  Canvassers,  pedlers,  and  Romance  not  ad 
mitted.'  " 

The  first  time  I  applied  for  a  job  I  was  unsuc 
cessful.  The  man  I  went  to  see  had  been  an 
instructor  at  Harvard  when  my  uncle  was  pro 
fessor  there,  and  Aunt  Mary  said  he  had  been  a 
great  friend  of  Professor  Endicott's.  One  day  in 
the  laboratory  the  man  discovered  something, 
and  had  it  patented.  It  brought  him  a  fortune, 
and  he  was  now  president  of  a  company  which 
manufactured  it,  and  with  branches  all  over  the 
world. 

Aunt  Mary  wrote  him  a  personal  letter  about 
3°9 


Captain  Macklin 

me,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  put  me  in  charge 
of  the  foreign  correspondence. 

He  kept  me  waiting  outside  his  office-door  for 
one  full  hour.  During  the  first  half-hour  I  was 
angry,  but  the  second  half-hour  I  enjoyed  exceed 
ingly.  By  that  time  the  situation  appealed  to  my 
sense  of  humor.  When  the  great  man  finally 
said  he  would  see  me,  I  found  him  tilting  back  in 
a  swivel-chair  in  front  of  a  mahogany  table.  He 
picked  out  Aunt  Mary's  letter  from  a  heap  in 
front  of  him,  and  said:  "Are  you  the  Mr. 
Macklin  mentioned  in  this  letter?  What  can  I 
do  for  you  ?  " 

I  said  very  deliberately  :  "  You  can  do  nothing 
for  me.  I  have  waited  one  hour  to  tell  you  so, 
When  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Endicott,  does  anyone  the 
honor  to  write  him  a  letter,  there  is  no  other  busi 
ness  in  New  York  City  more  important  than 
attending  promptly  to  that  letter.  I  had  intended 
becoming  a  partner  in  your  firm ;  now,  I  shall 
not.  You  are  a  rude,  fat,  and  absurd,  little  per 
son.  Good-morning." 

I  crossed  over  to  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard, 
and  told  Lowell  and  the  other  watch-officers  in 
the  ward-room  of  my  first  attempt  to  obtain  a 
job.  They  laughed  until  I  hoped  they  would 
strangle. 

"  Who  the  devil  do  you  think  you  are,  any- 
310 


Captain  Macklin 

way,"  they  cried,  "  going  around,  insulting  mili- 
ionnaires  like  that  ?  " 

After  leaving  the  cruiser  that  afternoon,  1  was 
so  miserable  that  I  could  have  jumped  into  the 
East  River.  It  was  the  sight  of  the  big,  brown 
guns  did  it,  and  the  cutlasses  in  their  racks,  and 
the  clean-limbed,  bare-throated  Jackies,  and  the 
watch-officer  stamping  the  deck  just  as  though  he 
were  at  sea,  with  his  glass  and  side-arms.  And 
when  the  marine  at  the  gate  of  the  yard  shifted 
his  gun  and  challenged  me,  it  was  so  like  old 
times  that  I  could  have  fallen  on  his  neck  and 
hugged  him. 

Over  the  wharves,  all  along  my  way  to  the 
ferry,  the  names  of  strange  and  beautiful  ports 
mocked  at  me  from  the  sheds  of  the  steam-ship 
lines ;  "  Bahia,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  the  River 
Plata,"  "  Guayaquil,  Callao,  and  Santiago," 
u  Cape  Town,  Durban,  and  Lorenzo  Marquez." 
It  was  past  six  o'clock  and  very  dark.  The  ice 
was  pushing  and  grinding  against  the  pier-heads, 
and  through  the  falling  snow  the  tall  buildings  in 
New  York  twinkled  with  thousands  of  electric 
lights,  like  great  Christmas-trees.  At  one  wharf 
a  steamer  of  the  Red  D  line,  just  in  from  La 
Guayra,  was  making  fast,  and  I  guiltily  crept  on 
board.  Without,  she  was  coated  in  a  shearing  of 
ice,  but  within  she  reeked  of  Spanish-America — - 

3" 


Captain  Macklin 

of  coffee,  rubber,  and  raw  sugar.  Pineapples 
were  still  swinging  in  a  net  from  the  awning-rail, 
a  two-necked  water-bottle  hung  at  the  hot  mouth 
of  the  engine-room.  I  found  her  captain  and 
told  him  I  only  wanted  to  smell  a  ship  again,  and 
to  find  out,  if  where  he  came  from,  the  bands 
were  still  playing  in  the  plazas.  He  seemed  to 
understand,  and  gave  me  a  drink  of  Jamaica  rum 
with  fresh  limes  in  it,  and  a  black  cigar;  and 
when  his  steward  brought  them,  I  talked  to  him 
in  Spanish  just  for  the  sound  of  it.  For  half  an 
hour  I  was  under  the  Southern  Cross,  and  New 
York  was  3,000  miles  astern. 

When  I  left  him,  the  captain  gave  me  a  bag 
of  alligator-pears  to  take  home  with  me,  and  I 
promised  to  come  the  next  day,  and  bring  him  a 
new  library  of  old,  paper  novels. 

But,  as  it  turned  out,  I  sent  them  instead,  for 
that  night  when  I  reached  the  New  York  side,  I 
saw  how  weakly  and  meanly  I  was  acting,  and 
I  threw  the  alligator-pears  over  the  rail  of  the 
ferry-boat  and  watched  them  fall  into  the  dirty, 
grinding  ice.  I  saw  that  I  had  been  in  rank 
mutiny.  My  bed  had  been  made  for  me  and  I 
must  lie  in  it.  I  was  to  be  a  business-man.  I 
was  to  "settle  down,"  and  it  is  only  slaves  who 
rebel. 

The  next  day,  humble  and  chastened  in  spirit, 
3" 


Captain  Macklin 

I  kissed  the  rod,  and  went  into  the  city  to  search 
for  a  situation.  I  determined  to  start  at  Forty- 
second  Street,  and  work  my  way  down  town  until 
I  found  a  place  that  looked  as  though  it  could 
afford  a  foreign  correspondent.  But  1  had 
reached  Twenty-eighth  Street,  without  seeing 
any  place  that  appealed  to  me,  when  a  little 
groom,  in  a  warm  fur  collar  and  chilly  white 
breeches,  ran  up  beside  me  and  touched  his  hat. 
I  was  so  surprised  that  I  saluted  him  in  return, 
and  then  felt  uneasily  conscious  that  that  was  not 
the  proper  thing  to  do,  and  that  forever  I  had  lost 
his  respect. 

"  Miss  Fiske  would  like  to  speak  with  you, 
sv,"  he  said.  He  ran  back  to  a  brougham  thav 
tfas  drawn  up  beside  the  curb  behind  me,  and 
opened  the  door.  When  I  reached  it,  Miss 
Fiske  leaned  from  it,  smiling. 

"  I  couldn't  help  calling  you  back,  Captain 
Macklin,"  she  said,  and  held  out  her  hand. 

When  I  took  it  she  laughed  again.  "  Isn't 
this  like  our  last  meeting  ?  "  sl.e  a^ked.  "  Don't 
you  remember  my  reaching  out  of  the  carriage, 
and  our  shaking  hands  ?  Only  now,"  she  went 
on,  in  a  most  frank  and  friendly  manner,  "  in 
stead  of  a  tropical  thunder-storm,  it's  a  snow 
storm,  and  instead  of  my  running  away  from  your 
shells,  I'm  out  shopping.  At  least,  mother's  out 


Captain  Macklin 

shopping,"  she  added.  "  She's  in  there.  Fm 
waiting  for  her."  She  seemed  to  think  that  the 
situation  required  a  chaperon. 

"You  mustn't  say  they  were  my  shells,  Miss 
Fiske,"  I  protested.  "  I  may  insult  a  woman  for 
protecting  her  brother's  life,  but  I  never  fire  shells 
at  her." 

It  did  not  surprise  me  to  hear  myself  laughing 
at  the  words  which,  when  she  spoke  them,  had 
seemed  so  terrible.  It  was  as  though  none  of  it 
had  ever  occurred.  It  was  part  of  a  romantic 
play,  and  we  had  seen  the  play  together.  Who 
could  believe  that  the  young  man,  tramping  the 
streets  on  the  lookout  for  a  job,  had  ever  signed 
his  name,  as  vice-president  of  Honduras,  to  a 
passport  for  Joseph  Fiske  ;  that  the  beautiful  girl 
in  the  sables,  with  her  card-case  in  her  hand,  had 
ever  heard  the  shriek  of  shrapnel  ? 

And  she  exclaimed,  just  as  though  we  had  both 
been  thinking  aloud :  "  No,  it's  not  possible, 
is  it?" 

"  It  never  happened,"  I  said 

"  But  I  tell  you  what  has  happened,"  she  went 
on,  eagerly,  "  or  perhaps  you  know.  Have  you 
heard  what  my  father  did  ? " 

I  said  I  had  not.  I  refrained  from  adding  that 
I  believed  her  father  capable  of  doing  almost  any 
thing. 


Captain  Macklin 

"Then  I'm  the  first  to  tell  you  the  news,"  she 
exclaimed.  She  nodded  at  me  energetically. 
"*  Well,  he's  paid  that  money.  He  owed  it  all 
the  time.' 

"  That's  not  news,"  I  said. 

She  flushed  a  little,  and  laughed. 

"  But,  indeed,  father  was  not  to  blame,"  she 
exclaimed.  "  They  deceived  him  dreadfully.  But 
when  we  got  home,  he  looked  it  up,  and  found 
you  were  right  about  that  money,  and  so  he's 
paid  it  back,  not  to  that  odious  Alvarez  man,  but 
in  some  way,  I  don't  quite  understand  how,  but 
so  the  poor  people  will  get  it." 

"  Good  !  "  I  cried. 

"  And  he's  discharged  all  that  Isthmian  crowd," 
she  went  on. 

"  Better,"  I  said. 

"  And  made  my  brother  president  of  the  new 
company,"  she  continued,  and  then  raised  her 
eyebrows,  and  waited,  smiling. 

"  Oh,  well,"  I  said,  "  since  he's  your  brother — 
e  best.'  " 

"  That's  right,"  she  cried.  "  That's  very  nice 
of  you.  Here  comes  mother.  I  want  you  to 
meet  her." 

Mother  came  toward  us,  out  of  a  French  dress' 
maker's.  It  was  one  of  the  places  I  had  decided 
against,  when  I  had  passed  it  a  few  minutes  be- 


Captain  Macklin 

fore.  It  seemed  one  of  the  few  business  houses 
where  a  French  linguist  would  be  superfluous. 

I  was  presented  as  "  Captain  Macklin — who, 
you  know,  mother — who  fought  the  duel  with 
Arthur — that  is,  who  didn't  shoot  at  him." 

Mrs.  Fiske  looked  somewhat  startled.  Even 
to  a  trained  social  leader  it  must  be  trying  to  have 
a  man  presented  to  you  on  a  sidewalk  as  the  one 
who  did  not  shoot  your  son. 

Mrs.  Fiske  had  a  toy  dog  under  one  arm,  and 
was  holding  up  her  train,  but  she  slipped  the  dog 
to  the  groom,  and  gave  me  her  hand. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr. — Captain  Macklin," 
she  said.  "  My  son  has  told  me  a  great  deal 
about  you.  Have  you  asked  Captain  Macklin 
to  come  to  see  us,  Helen  ?  "  she  said,  and  stepped 
into  the  brougham. 

"  Come  in  any  day  after  five,"  said  Miss 
Fiske,  "  and  we'll  have  tortillas  and  frijoles,  and 
build  a  camp-fire  in  the  library.  What's  your 
address  ? " 

"  Dobbs  Ferry,"  I  said. 

"Just  Dobbs  Ferry?"  she  asked.  "But 
you're  such  a  well-known  person,  Captain  Mack 
lin." 

"  I'm  Mr.  Macklin  now,"  I  answered,  and  I 
tried  to  shut  the  door  on  them,  but  the  groom 
seemed  to  think  that  was  his  privilege,  and  so  I 

316 


Captain  Macklin 

bowed,  and  they  drove  away.  Then  I  went  at 
once  to  a  drug-store  and  borrowed  the  directory, 
to  find  out  where  they  lived,  and  I  walked  all  the 
way  up  the  avenue  to  have  a  look  at  their  house. 
Somehow  I  felt  that  for  that  day  1  could  not  go 
on  asking  for  a  job.  I  saw  a  picture  of  myself 
on  a  high  stool  in  the  French  dressmaker's  writ 
ing  to  the  Paris  house  for  more  sable  cloaks  for 
Mrs.  Fiske. 

The  Fiske  mansion  overlooks  Central  Park, 
and  it  is  as  big  as  the  Academy  of  Music.  I 
found  that  I  knew  it  well  by  sight.  I  at  once 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  never  would  have  the 
courage  to  ring  that  door-bell,  and  I  mounted  a 
Fifth  Avenue  stage,  and  took  up  my  work  of  rec 
onnoitring  for  a  job  where  Miss  Fiske  had  in 
terrupted  it. 

The  next  day  I  got  the  job.  I  am  to  begin 
work  on  Monday.  It  is  at  Schwartz  &  Carboy's. 
They  manufacture  locks  and  hinges  and  agricult 
ural  things.  I  saw  a  lot  of  their  machetes  in 
Honduras  with  their  paper  stamp  on  the  blade. 
They  have  almost  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  in 
South  America.  Fortunately,  or  unfortunately, 
one  of  their  Spanish  clerks  had  left  them,  and 
when  I  said  1  had  been  in  Central  America  and 
could  write  Spanish  easily,  Schwartz,  or,  it  may 
have  been  Carboy — I  didn't  ask  him  which  was 


Captain  Macklin 

his  silly  name — dictated  a  letter  and  I  wrote  it  in 
Spanish.  One  of  the  other  clerks  admitted  it 
was  faultless.  So,  I  regret  to  say,  I  got  the  job. 
I'm  to  begin  with  fifteen  dollars,  and  Schwartz  or 
Carboy  added,  as  though  it  were  a  sort  of  a  per 
quisite  :  "  If  our  young  men  act  gentlemanly, 
and  are  good  dressers,  we  often  send  them  to  take 
our  South  American  customers  to  lunch.  The 
house  pays  the  expenses.  And  in  the  evenings 
you  can  show  them  around  the  town.  Our 
young  men  find  that  an  easy  way  of  seeing  the 
theatres  for  nothing." 

Knowing  the  tastes  of  South  Americans  visiting 
New  York,  I  replied  severely  that  my  connection 
with  Schwartz  &  Carboy  would  end  daily  at  four 
in  the  afternoon,  but  that  a  cross-town  car  passed 
Koster  &  Rial's  every  hour.  I  half  hoped  he 
would  take  offence  at  that,  and  in  consequence 
my  connection  with  Schwartz  &  Carboy  might 
end  instantly  and  forever  ;  but  whichever  one  he 
was,  only  laughed  and  said :  "  Yes,  those  Brazil 
ians  are  a  queer  lot.  We  eat  up  most  of  our 
profits  bailing  them  out  of  police  courts  the  next 
morning.  Well — you  turn  up  Monday." 


Captain  Macklin 

DOBBS  FERRY,  Sunday,  Midnight 

It's  all  over.  It  will  be  a  long  time  before  I 
add  another  chapter  to  my  "  Memoirs."  When 
I  have  written  this  one  they  arc  to  be  sealed,  and 
to-morrow  they  are  to  be  packed  away  in  Aunt 
Mary's  cedar  chest.  I  am  now  writing  these  lines 
after  everyone  else  has  gone  to  bed. 

It  happened  after  dinner.  Aunt  Mary  was 
upstairs,  and  Beatrice  was  at  the  piano.  We 
were  waiting  for  Lowell,  who  had  promised  to 
come  up  and  spend  the  evening.  I  was  sitting 
at  the  centre-table,  pretending  to  read,  but  watch 
ing  Beatrice.  Her  back  was  turned  toward  me, 
so  I  could  stare  at  her  as  long  as  I  pleased.  The 
light  of  the  candles  on  each  side  of  the  music- 
rack  fell  upon  her  hair,  and  made  it  flash  and 
burn.  She  had  twisted  it  high,  in  a  coil,  and 
there  never  was  anything  more  lovely  than  the 
burnished  copper  against  the  white  glow  of  her 
skin,  nor  anything  so  noble  as  the  way  her  head 
rose  upon  her  neck  and  sloping  shoulders.  It 
was  like  a  flower  on  a  white  stem. 

She  was  not  looking  at  the  music  before  her» 
but  up  at  nothing,  while  her  hands  ran  over  the 
keyboard,  playing  an  old  sailor's  "  chantey  "  which 
Lowell  has  taught  us.  It  carries  with  it  all  the 
sweep  and  murmur  of  the  sea  at  night. 

319 


Captain  Macklin 

She  could  not  see  me,  she  had  forgotten  that  I 
was  even  in  the  room,  and  I  was  at  liberty  to 
gaze  at  her  and  dream  of  her  undisturbed.  I  felt 
that,  without  that  slight,  white  figure  always  at 
my  side,  the  life  I  was  to  begin  on  the  morrow, 
or  any  other  life,  would  be  intolerable.  Without 
the  thought  of  Beatrice  to  carry  me  through  the 
day  I  could  not  bear  it.  Except  for  her,  what 
promise  was  there  before  me  of  reward  or  honor? 
I  was  no  longer  "  an  officer  and  a  gentleman,"  I 
was  a  copying  clerk,  "  a  model  letter-writer."  I 
could  foresee  the  end.  I  would  become  a  ner 
vous,  knowing,  smug-faced  civilian.  Instead  of 
clean  liquors,  I  would  poison  myself  with  cock 
tails  and  "quick-order"  luncheons.  I  would 
carry  a  commuter's  ticket.  In  time  I  might  rise 
to  the  importance  of  calling  the  local  conductors 
by  their  familiar  names.  "  Bill,  what  was  the 
matter  with  the  8.13  this  morning?"  From  to 
morrow  forward  I  would  be  "  our  "  Mr.  Macklin, 
"Yours  of  even  date  received.  Our  Mr.  Mack 
lin  will  submit  samples  of  goods  desired."  "  Mr." 
Macklin  !  "  Our  "  Mr.  Macklin  !  Ye  Gods  I 
Schwartz  &  Carboy's  Mr.  Macklin ! 

I  set  my  teeth  and  fixed  my  eyes  on  Beatrice. 
For  her  sake,  but  only  for  her  sake  could  it  be 
endured.  If  she  could  ever  care  for  me,  as  I 
longed  and  hoped  she  might,  I  would  submit  to 

320 


Captain  Macklin 

any  servitude,  I  would  struggle  to  rise  above  the 
most  hateful  surroundings. 

I  had  just  registered  this  mental  vow,  my  eyes 
were  still  fixed  appealingly  on  the  woman  who 
was  all  unconscious  of  the  sacrifice  I  was  about  to 
make  for  her,  when  the  servant  came  into  the 
room  and  handed  me  a  telegram.  I  signed  for 
it,  and  she  went  out.  Beatrice  had  not  heard  her 
enter,  and  was  still  playing.  I  guessed  the  tele 
gram  was  from  Lowell  to  say  he  could  not  get 
away,  and  I  was  sorry.  But  as  I  tore  open  the 
envelope,  I  noticed  that  it  was  not  the  usual  one 
of  yellow  paper,  but  of  a  pinkish  white.  I  had 
never  received  a  cablegram.  I  did  not  know  that 
this  was  one.  I  read  the  message,  and  as  I  read 
it  the  blood  in  every  part  of  my  body  came  to  a 
sudden  stop.  There  was  a  strange  buzzing  in 
my  ears,  the  drums  seemed  to  have  burst  with  a 
tiny  report.  The  shock  was  so  tremendous  that 
it  seemed  Beatrice  must  have  felt  it  too,  and  I 
looked  up  at  her  stupidly.  She  was  still  playing. 

The  cablegram  had  been  sent  that  morning 
from  Marseilles.  The  message  read,  "  Command 
ing  Battalion  French  Zouaves, Tonkin  Expedition, 
holding  position  of  Adjutant  open  for  you,  rank 
of  Captain,  if  accept  join  Marseilles.  Laguerre." 

I  laid  the  paper  on  my  knee,  and  sat  staring, 
scarcely  breathing,  as  though  I  were  afraid  if  I 

321 


Captain  Macklin 

moved  I  would  wake.  I  was  trembling  and  cold, 
for  I  was  at  the  parting  of  the  ways,  and  I  knew 
it.  Beyond  the  light  of  the  candles,  beyond  the 
dull  red  curtains  jealously  drawn  against  the  win 
ter  landscape,  beyond  even  the  slight,  white  figure 
with  its  crown  of  burnished  copper,  I  saw  the 
swarming  harbor  of  Marseilles.  I  saw  the  swag 
gering  turcos  in  their  scarlet  breeches,  the  crowded 
troop-ships,  and  from  every  ship's  mast  the  glori 
ous  tri-color  of  France ;  the  flag  that  in  ten  short 
years  had  again  risen,  that  was  flying  over  advanc 
ing  columns  in  China,  in  Africa,  in  Madagascar ; 
over  armies  that  for  Alsace  Lorraine  were  giving 
France  new  and  great  colonies  on  every  seaboard 
of  the  world.  The  thoughts  that  flew  through  my 
brain  made  my  fingers  clench  until  the  nails  bit 
into  my  palms.  Even  to  dream  of  such  happi 
ness  was  actual  pain.  That  this  might  come  to 
me !  To  serve  under  the  tri-color,  to  be  a  cap 
tain  of  the  Grand  Armee,  to  be  one  of  the  army 
reared  and  trained  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 

I  heard  a  cheery  voice,  and  Lowell  passed  me, 
and  advanced  bowing  toward  Beatrice,  and  she 
turned  and  smiled  at  him.  But  as  she  rose,  she 
saw  my  face. 

"  Roy  ! "  she  cried.  "  What  is  it?  What  has 
happened  ? " 

I  watched  her  coming  toward  me,  as  someone 
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Captain  Macklin 

projected  from  another  life,  a  wonderful,  beautiful 
memory,  from  a  life  already  far  in  the  past.  I 
handed  her  the  cablegram  and  stood  up  stiffly. 
My  joints  were  rigid  and  the  blood  was  still  cold 
in  my  veins.  She  read  the  message,  and  gave  a 
little  cry,  and  stood  silent,  gazing  at  me.  I  mo 
tioned  her  to  give  it  to  Lowell,  who  was  looking 
at  us  anxiously,  his  eyes  rilled  with  concern. 

He  kept  his  head  lowered  over  the  message  for 
so  long,  that  I  thought  he  was  reading  it  several 
times.  When  he  again  raised  his  face  it  was  filled 
with  surprise  and  disapproval.  But  beneath,  1 
saw  a  dawning  look  which  he  could  not  keep 
down,  of  a  great  hope.  It  was  as  though  he  had 
been  condemned  to  death,  and  the  paper  Beatrice 
had  handed  him  to  read  had  been  his  own  re 
prieve. 

"  Tell  me,"  said  Beatrice.  Her  tone  was  as 
gentle  and  as  solemn  as  the  stroke  of  a  bell,  and 
as  impersonal.  It  neither  commended  nor  re 
proved.  I  saw  that  instantly  she  had  determined 
to  conceal  her  own  wishes,  to  obliterate  herself 
entirely,  to  let  me  know  that,  so  far  as  she  could 
affect  my  choice,  I  was  a  free  agent.  I  looked 
appealingly  from  her  to  Lowell,  and  from  Lowell 
back  to  Beatrice.  I  still  was  trembling  with  the 
fever  the  message  had  lit  in  me.  When  I  tried 
to  answer,  my  voice  was  hoarse  and  shaking, 

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Captain  Macklin 

«  It's  like  drink  !  "  I  said. 

Lowell  raised  his  eyes  as  though  he  meant  to 
speak,  and  then  lowered  them  and  stepped  back, 
leaving  Beatrice  and  myself  together. 

<f  I  only  want  you  to  see,"  Beatrice  began 
bravely,  "  how — how  serious  it  is.  Every  one  of 
us  in  his  life  must  have  a  moment  like  this,  and, 
if  he  could  only  know  that  the  moment  had  come, 
he  might  decide  wisely.  You  know  the  moment 
has  come.  You  must  see  that  this  is  the  crisis. 
It  means  choosing  not  for  a  year,  but  for  always." 
She  held  out  her  hands,  entwining  the  fingers 
dosely.  "  Oh,  don't  think  I'm  trying  to  stop 
you,  Royal,"  she  cried.  "  I  only  want  you  to  see 
that  it's  final.  I  know  that  it's  like  strong  drink 
to  you,  but  the  more  you  give  way  to  it — .  Don't 
you  think,  if  you  gave  your  life  here  a  fairer  trial, 
if  you  bore  with  it  a  little  longer " 

She  stopped  sharply  as  though  she  recognized 
that,  in  urging  me  to  a  choice,  she  was  acting  as  she 
had  determined  she  would  not.  I  did  not  answer, 
but  stood  in  silence  with  my  head  bent,  for  I  could 
not  look  at  her.  I  knew  now  how  much  dearer  to 
me,  even  than  her  voice,  was  the  one  which  gave 
the  call  to  arms.  I  did  indeed  understand  that  the 
crisis  had  come.  In  that  same  room,  five  minutes 
before  the  message  arrived,  I  had  sworn  for  her 
sake  alone  to  submit  to  the  life  I  hated. 

324 


Captain  Macklin 

And  yet  in  an  instant,  without  a  moment's 
pause,  at  the  first  sound  of  "  Boots  and  Saddles/* 
I  had  sprung  to  my  first  love,  and  had  forgotten 
Beatrice  and  my  sworn  allegiance.  Knowing  how 
greatly  I  loved  her,  I  now  could  understand,  since 
it  made  me  turn  from  her,  how  much  greater 
must  be  my  love  for  this,  her  only  rival,  the  old 
life  that  was  again  inviting  me. 

I  was  no  longer  to  be  deceived;  the  one  and 
only  thing  I  really  loved,  the  one  thing  I  under 
stood  and  craved,  was  the  free,  homeless,  untram 
melled  life  of  the  soldier  of  fortune.  I  wanted  to 
see  the  shells  splash  up  the  earth  again,  I  wanted 
to  throw  my  leg  across  a  saddle,  I  wanted  to  sleep 
on  a  blanket  by  a  camp-fire,  I  wanted  the  kiss  and 
caress  of  danger,  the  joy  which  comes  when  the 
sword  wins  honor  and  victory  together,  and  I 
wanted  the  clear,  clean  view  of  right  and  wrong, 
that  is  given  only  to  those  who  hourly  walk  with 
death. 

I  raised  my  head,  and  spoke  very  softly : 

"It  is  too  late.  I  am  sorry.  But  I  have  de 
cided.  I  must  go." 

Lowell  stepped  out  of  the  shadow,  and  faced 
me  with  the  same  strange  look,  partly  of  wonder, 
and  partly  of  indignation. 

"  Nonsense,  Royal,"  he  said,  "  let  me  talk  to 
you.  We've  been  shipmates,  or  comrades,  and 

325 


Captain  Macklin 

all  that  sort  of  thing,  and  you've  got  to  listen  to 
me.  Think,  man,  think  what  you're  losing. 
Think  of  all  the  things  you  are  giving  up.  Don't 
be  a  weak  child.  This  will  affect  your  whole  life. 
You  have  no  right  to  decide  it  in  a  minute." 

I  stepped  to  its  hiding-place,  and  took  out 
the  sword  my  grandfather  had  carried  in  the  Civil 
War ;  the  sword  I  had  worn  in  Honduras.  I 
had  hidden  it  away,  that  it  might  not  remind  me 
that  once  I,  too,  was  a  soldier.  It  acted  on  me 
like  a  potion.  The  instant  my  fingers  touched 
its  hilt,  the  blood,  which  had  grown  chilled,  leaped 
through  my  body.  In  answer  I  held  the  sword 
toward  Lowell.  It  was  very  hard  to  speak.  They 
did  not  know  how  hard.  They  did  not  know  how 
cruelly  it  hurt  me  to  differ  from  them,  and  to  part 
from  them.  The  very  thought  of  it  turned  me 
sick  and  miserable.  But  it  was  written.  It  had 
to  be. 

"  You  ask  me  to  think  of  what  I  am  giving 
up,"  I  said,  gently.  "  I  gave  up  this.  I  shall 
never  surrender  it  again.  I  am  not  deciding  in  a 
minute.  It  was  decided  for  me  long  ago.  It's  a 
tradition.  It's  handed  down  to  me.  My  grand 
father  was  Hamilton,  of  Cerro  Gordo,  of  the 
City  of  Mexico,  of  Gettysburg.  My  father  was 
t  Fighting '  Macklin.  He  was  killed  at  the 
head  of  his  soldiers.  All  my  people  have  been 

326 


Captain  Macklin 

soldiers.  One  fought  at  the  battle  of  Princeton, 
one  died  righting  the  king  at  Culloden.  It's  bred 
in  me.  It's  in  the  blood.  It's  the  blood  of  the 
Macklins  that  has  decided  this.  And  I — I  am 
the  last  of  the  Macklins,  and  I  must  live  and  die 
like  one." 

The  house  is  quiet  now.  They  have  all  left 
me  to  my  packing,  and  are  asleep.  Lowell  went 
early  and  bade  me  good-by  at  the  gate.  He  was 
very  sad  and  solemn.  "  God  bless  you,  Royal," 
he  said,  "  and  keep  you  safe,  and  bring  you  back 
to  us."  And  I  watched  him  swinging  down  the 
silent,  moon-lit  road,  knocking  the  icicles  from 
the  hedges  with  his  stick.  I  stood  there  some 
time  looking  after  him,  for  I  love  him  very 
dearly,  and  then  a  strange  thing  happened.  After 
he  had  walked  quite  a  distance  from  the  house, 
he  suddenly  raised  his  head  and  began  to  whistle 
a  jolly,  rollicking  sea-song.  I  could  hear  him  for 
some  minutes.  I  was  glad  to  think  he  took  it  so 
light-heartedly.  It  is  good  to  know  that  he  is 
not  jealous  of  my  great  fortune. 

To-night  we  spared  each  other  the  parting 
words.  But  to-morrow  they  must  be  spoken, 
when  Aunt  Mary  and  Beatrice  come  to  see 
me  sail  away  on  the  French  liner.  The  ship 
leaves  at  noon,  and  ten  days  later  I  shall  be 
in  Havre.  Ye  gods,  to  think  that  in  ten  days  I 

327 


Captain  Macklin 

shall  see  Paris !  And  then,  the  Mediterranean, 
the  Suez  Canal,  the  Indian  Ocean,  Singapore,  and, 
at  last,  the  yellow  flags  and  black  dragons  of  the 
enemy.  It  cannot  last  long,  this  row.  I  shall 
be  coming  home  again  in  six  months,  unless  the 
Mahdi  makes  trouble.  Laguerre  was  three  years 
in  the  Khedive's  service,  and  with  his  influence 
an  ex-captain  of  the  French  army  should  have 
little  difficulty  in  getting  a  commission  in  Egypt. 

Then,  after  that,  I  really  will  come  home.  But 
not  as  an  ex-soldier.  This  time  I  shall  come 
home  on  furlough.  I  shall  come  home  a  real 
officer,  and  play  the  prodigal  again  to  the  two 
noblest  and  sweetest  and  best  women  in  God's 
world.  All  women  are  good,  but  they  are  the 
best.  All  women  are  so  good,  that  when  one  of 
them  thinks  one  of  us  is  worthy  to  marry  her, 
she  pays  a  compliment  to  our  entire  sex.  But  as 
they  are  all  good  and  all  beautiful,  Beatrice  being 
the  best  and  most  beautiful,  I  was  right  not  to 
think  of  marrying  only  one  of  them.  With  the 
world  full  of  good  women,  and  with  a  fight  always 
going  on  somewhere,  I  am  very  wise  not  to 
"  settle  down."  I  know  I  shall  be  very  happy. 

In  a  year  I  certainly  must  come  back,  a  foreign 
officer  on  leave,  and  I  shall  go  to  West  Point 
and  pay  my  respects  to  the  Commandant.  The 
men  who  saw  me  turned  out  will  have  to  present 

328 


Captain  Macklin 

arms  to  me,  and  the  older  men  will  say  to  the 
plebs,  "  That  distinguished-looking  officer  with 
the  French  mustache,  and  the  red  ribbon  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  is  Captain  Macklin.  He  was 
turned  out  of  here.  Now  he's  only  a  soldier  of 
fortune.  He  belongs  to  no  country/' 

But  when  the  battalion  is  drawn  up  at  retreat 
and  the  shadows  stretch  across  the  grass,  I  shall 
take  up  my  stand  once  more  on  the  old  parade 
ground,  with  all  the  future  Grants  and  Lees 
around  me,  and  when  the  flag  comes  down,  I 
shall  raise  my  hand  with  theirs,  and  show  them 
that  I  have  a  country,  too,  and  that  the  flag  we. 
salute  together  is  my  flag  still. 


THE    END 


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